SHILLONG: Despite the opening of the Shillong Bypass traffic congestion continues to haunt the residents of the city.
The scene on the streets jam-packed with vehicles only goes to indicate that the Shillong Bypass, which was conceived to ease traffic scenario in the city, was only a dream as commuters continue to slog for long hours inside public transport vehicles and local cabs to reach their destination.
The scene in the city particularly during the morning school and office hours and the evening hours, coupled with the spate of road blockade announcements, has sent the commuters into a state of helplessness being unable to deal with the situation.
To ease the traffic chaos in the city, several interesting suggestions have poured in from the general public who are at the receiving end of the day to day traffic snarls.
Amitabha Choudhury, a former resident of Lachaumiere and presently settled in Sydney, Australia where he is working as an urban planner visited the city recently and said that the solution to the vexed traffic issue here is that people should start realizing the importance of walking as soon as possible.
“In countries like Australia, and in Europe and USA, people tend to walk to reach their destinations, which a small city like Shillong should emulate. People should start walking here instead of wasting time stranded in public transport or in cabs,” he said, adding this will have enormous benefits like lesser carbon emissions, healthy personal life, savings and much more.
“You will see more people in the western countries walking instead of using cars. India has got the biggest number of vehicles in its streets,” he added.
Endorsing his views is Alban Marboh, a resident of Pynthorbah, who is a habitual walker and an ideal example of what Amitabha is proposing, given the traffic chaos in the city.
“How big is Shillong that one has to depend on conveyance? The problem is with the attitude of public here who are more dependent on vehicles even if is for a short distance,” Alban said.
Malki resident Hehkupar Khonglah is of the opinion that road dividers can be used as a useful mechanism to tackle the growing menace of traffic snarls in the city. He said that such dividers can be placed in between the road from Malki till Bandstand, Madanrting.
“What is happening now is that cars which are bound for the Jowai Highway are stranded behind those vehicles bound for Don Bosco and Laitumkhrah at the Malki and Dhankheti junctions. If such dividers are placed then vehicles will be forced to take their respective lanes like the one in MG Road,” he reasoned.
There are also opinions that vehicles entering the Civil Hospital from this junction also create serious congestion throughout the day. As the gate near the junction happens to be the entry whereas the one near the PWD rotary is the exit, it creates severe confusion and congestion when vehicles enter the hospital from both directions of the highway amidst movement of pedestrians.
According to Taresh Nath, a resident of Laban, the rear gate of the Civil Hospital near the TH Rangad bust at Red Cross can be utilized for entry/ exit of vehicles instead of jamming the Civil Junction from both sides.
“Since this is a highway vehicles bound for Guwahati, Jowai, Silchar are moving nonstop and if the rear gate is utilized with a bit of traffic and infrastructural rearrangements then it is bound to help one and all,” he suggested.