Nominations, rally overdrive choke city arteries

SHILLONG, Feb 6: The cloistered and congested Shillong on Monday once again saw chaotic scenes as the city witnessed massive traffic jams till late at night, thanks to the massive show of strength by candidates of different political parties who turned up at the DC office with hundreds of supporters.
Since morning, scores of candidates from different political parties thronged the DC office with thousands of supporters slowing down and blocking the normal flow of traffic in the city. As candidates filed their nominations, their supporters stood outside the DC office which led to the slowdown of the traffic.
Many young school children were badly hassled with the traffic, as these students reached their homes very late, tired and hungry.
Some agitated parents also vented out their anger on social media asking Shillong Traffic Police to make necessary arrangements for ensuring a smooth flow of traffic in view of the ongoing nominations filing process.
Students returning from school had to bear the maximum brunt remaining stuck for four or five hours without food and water because of prolonged traffic snarl triggered by the show of strength and associated excess by the workers and supporters of various political outfits. Normal traffic flow was reportedly paralysed for almost four hours.
A worried mother bitterly complained, “The city remained stand still for almost four hours and our wards had to suffer from over-enthusiasm on the part of political activists and workers during the filing of nominations of their leaders. It is not at all desired.”
She hoped that the Shillong Traffic Police would do well to manage the situation on Tuesday, the last date of filing nominations for the upcoming state polls.
Meanwhile, East Khasi Hills SP Raghvendra Kumar MG said that the police would deploy more boots on the road and stretches would be divided into sectors which will be looked after by gazetted officers. “Even SP City will supervise the situation,” he added.
Another person said that he went out of the city and had to return for important engagements, but all his plans were derailed following the massive traffic snarls choking the already overburdened city.
Some people were seen stuck in the Upper Shillong area for nearly 3-4 hours.
“The politicians should also think about common citizens rather than promoting their political interests by bringing a huge number of followers during such rallies,” another citizen rued while asking the authorities to impose some restrictions on the candidates who bring the massive crowd to showcase their political strength to garner support during hustings.