SHILLONG, Dec 3: The traffic mess in Shillong has worsened in the last few years with no solution in sight despite assurances and promises.
Soon after taking charge in 2018, the MDA Government promised to carve out smaller bypasses to arrest the traffic congestion.
Barring the Mawlai Bypass, there has been no headway in almost five years now. Nor have any of the existing roads been expanded to accommodate the ever-growing volume of traffic in the city.
As the NPP-led government’s tenure nears its end, a tender was floated for upgrading the Laitkor-Pomlakrai-Laitlyngkot road on the city’s periphery.
The traffic situation made the High Court of Meghalaya intervene but the answer to the problem remains elusive. And plans for flyovers, monorails, cable cars and skywalks failed to move from paperwork to the ground.
The closest to constructing a flyover for the government was blaming the defence authorities for not parting with the land.
The government had initiated steps to construct the ambitious Western Bypass but now has no time left to start it. Stage 1 of the four-lane Shillong-Dawki Road project from Rilbong to Upper Shillong has been abandoned and a new contractor is yet to be roped in.
But the lack of road space has not affected the sale of vehicles. The number of new vehicles registered in the city has been growing exponentially with an average of 37 four-wheelers, 35 two-wheelers and two heavy vehicles added to the traffic every working day.
“The situation is getting worse by the day,” a traffic policeman said.
The IIM Shillong was assigned the task of suggesting possible solutions to the city’s traffic woes. The institute has reportedly submitted its suggestions to the high court.
