SHILLONG, June 3: The road beginning from Mawlai fuel station and leading towards Mawlai Stand Bus seems to be in a deplorable condition and residents have attributed one of the causes to the plying haphazard plying of trucks.
Apart from the agonies of travelling on the road being flagged, many have even criticised that there is no regulation on the timing for the trucks to ply on the relatively smaller road, which, they claim, has led to traffic jams.
Another concern flagged by the stakeholders is the danger posed by trucks plying during school hours to the schoolchildren.
With regard to the condition of the road, a senior PWD official has said that the Meghalaya government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 3 crore from the Central Road Fund (CRF) scheme to reconstruct the road starting from Mawlai petrol pump junction to Mawlai Mawroh near the Presbyterian Church.
According to the official, the PWD has already issued the work order to the contractor of the said project two years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He, however, informed that the reconstruction work could not be taken up since the PHE department was still laying the pipes as part of the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS) Phase 3.
“We will have to wait till the PHE department completes the laying of the pipes. We have targeted that they will start the work as soon as the monsoon ends,” the senior PWD official said, while adding that even the contractor is keen on taking up the work.
According to him, the black-topping of the road will be completed within a month from the day of commencement of the work.
He said that the road will be constructed using Bitumen Macadam and Bitumen Concrete (BMBC) bitumen concreting, which, according to the PWD official, will help increase its durability.
With regard to the alleged menace of trucks, a senior police official said that only trucks carrying public distribution system (PDS) items or essential commodities are allowed.
“We will definitely try to find out ways and means to reduce the traffic snarl during school hours. But we cannot stop essential commodities trucks to ply through this road,” the police official said.
On the other hand, Mawlai MLA PT Sawkmie has asked the PWD to take up the reconstruction of this road at the earliest.
“I have given PHE department till September first week to complete the laying of the pipes. The PWD will go ahead with the reconstruction of the road even if the PHE fails to meet the deadline,” Sawkmie said, even as he admitted to receiving complaints about the road.
Acknowledging the importance of the road in question, the MLA has asserted to construct the road through the MLA’s scheme, if it came down to that.
