SHILLONG, March 12: The New Shillong Township (NST) planned years ago has finally started taking shape.
Several important infrastructure projects have come up in the area although many feel the township lacks the kind of broad roads to avoid traffic problems in the future.
Institutes such as NEIGRIHMS, NEIAH, SICPAC, MATI, IIM Shillong, Shillong Technology Park and NIFT Shillong are operating from the NST and people have started moving in. But the roads are almost as wide as they are in Shillong.
“The roads in Shillong cannot be expanded but there’s still time for the NST to have wider roads,” an executive commuting to and from the NST said.
The road from Nongmensong to NEIGRIHMS has become quite busy and the volume of traffic has been increasing by the day.
The internal roads of the NST have a similar width problem and the general consensus is that these would become congested in the near future with more buildings and projects coming up.
The NST will face more challenges when the new Assembly building and the Secretariat start operating followed by the Shillong Medical College and Hospital.
On the brighter side, the roads of the NST are better than those in Shillong and have better lighting.
The NST is expected to get busier if a site nearby is finalised for constructing an airport.
The NST project came up in the second Shillong Master Plan (1991-2011) and was proposed near Mawdiangdiang, spread across 20.3 sq. km, to ease the urban congestion in Shillong.
The government is planning to shift the administrative and commercial activities to Mawdiangdiang-Umsawli and the adjoining areas to give Shillong some breathing space.
The current population of Shillong’s metro area is estimated at 4.8 lakh, about 2 lakh more than the conservative count.
