Land from Raj Bhavan can ease congestion: Mawthoh

SHILLONG: UDP legislator Jemino Mawthoh on Tuesday suggested that some parts of the Governor’s House located in the heart of the city could be parted with to reduce congestion.     Moving a motion on traffic congestion in Shillong, Mawthoh said Governor’s House occupied a huge chunk of land and some land obtained from the Raj Bhavan could be of great help in reducing congestion. The MLA also suggested that major institutes located in the heart of the city could be shifted to the New Shillong Township. Terming traffic jams as a social problem Mawthoh asserted that the problem in Shillong had become ‘world class’. He feared that Shillong might appear in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most congested hill station.Elaborating with statistics, Mawthoh said that in 2009 over one lakh vehicle used to ply through the heart of the town on a daily basis and the total number of registered vehicles in East Khasi Hills District alone was 76636. He also pointed out that there was one traffic policeman for every 461 vehicles in the city.Mawthoh urged the state government to prevail over the Defence authorities to part with land for expanding the roads in Shillong and further suggested that the MTC bus stand and workshop at Police Bazar should be converted into a parking lot.NPP legislator James Sangma lamented that there was no consistency in the width of the roads in Shillong and Tura. He also wanted to know how the government was planning to go ahead with the proposed mono rail project in Shillong when the state was facing financial crisis.Mawlai legislator Embhah Syiemlieh suggested construction of a flyover from Mawlai Nongkwar to Mawlai Iewrynghep to reduce congestion.UDP’s Paul Lyngdoh lamented that there was no mobility plan for traffic congestion in Shillong and asked the government to engage with the Hima of Mylliem to establish new commercial hubs in the city. However, the discussion on the motion remained inconclusive.