SHILLONG: The Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) has embarked upon the demolition exercise of the park adjacent to OB Shopping Mall at Khyndai Lad on Tuesday.
“The abandoned park in the commercial hub of the city has become an eyesore, with people dumping garbage into it. We are contemplating transformation of the entire park with the construction of the pedestrian plaza,” Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh informed here on Tuesday.
Lyngdoh said that as the scenario stands at present, there is no open space in Khyndai Lad.
“The coming up of this pedestrian plaza would provide a place for hosting of various musical concerts and other entertainment events. It would also serve as an added attraction,” Lyngdoh said.
At the proposed site, she said that the administration is planning to provide a space for a police booth and a tourism information centre besides using it as an embarkment and disembarkment point.
“We have already received Rs 32 lakh for the project. We have also allotted the work required for the project,” Lyngdoh said while adding that her department is keeping a timeline to complete the project within eight months’ time.
She informed that a joint inspection with police would be conducted on Wednesday before the construction finally commences.
Earlier, the Civil Society Women’s Organization (CSWO) wanted the State Government to allot the space for the womenfolk selling kwai (betel-nuts), vegetable and fruits on the roadside adjacent to the OB shopping mall in Khyndai Lad.
