By Our Reporter
unattainable at the moment. (ST File photo)
SHILLONG: Though the flow of traffic in Shillong city has doubled over the last few years, the roads of Shillong has more or less remained the same what it was twenty years back. This evident fact has turned commuting around the city into a nightmare.
The PWD minister Sniawbhalang Dhar on the other hand blames the unavailability of land as one of the major problems before the Government to expand the roads of Shillong city.
Speaking to reporters here, Sniawbhalang Dhar said that the department has asked its officers to identify certain junctions of the city which has a scope of expansion.
“We planned to expand all junctions of the city including Mawlai and Umpling but we are waiting for land acquisition,” the minister told a group of journalists on Thursday.
The Minister said that the major hurdle for the department to expand the roads and construct a flyover in the city is due to the peculiar land tenure system as the land here belongs to individuals and not the Government.
Earlier, plans were also made to construct flyovers in the city to de-congest traffic but the plans remain in its nascent stage since the State Government has not been able to acquire land for the much needed flyovers.
Recently, the defence establishment has agreed in principle to hand over 0.339 square kilometer of land at Garrison Ground to pave way for construction of a flyover from Civil Hospital junction to General’s Point.
The New Shillong Township could have gone a long way in decongesting Shillong city but that initiative too has fallen under a controversy following resistance from NGOs.
While the State Government finds it difficult to find land for road expansion, citizens believe that the State Government can expand road at IGP point by taking away small plots of land from State Central Library.
The overall question that remains is whether the Meghalaya Government will ever be successful in expanding the narrow roads of Shillong.