SHILLONG, July 24: The High Court of Meghalaya on Monday observed that the traffic situation in the state’s capital is getting worse by the day.
The state government filed a report during the hearing of a PIL, indicating some measures undertaken or proposed to be undertaken to ease the traffic congestion in and around Shillong.
“On the ground, however, it appears that the situation is getting worse by the day. Getting into Shillong from the Guwahati-Shillong highway is a near-nightmare. Further, at peak office hours and during early morning and early afternoon school hours, traffic all across the city comes to a standstill,” the court said.
“With an increasing number of cars and no attempt to increase the road space and very little facilities for parking, the problem appears to have no immediate solution,” the court observed.
It was submitted on behalf of petitioner Philip Khrawbok Shati that though the government has invested in buses for schoolchildren with a lot of fanfare, it has not taken steps to assure parents of the security of their wards.
As a consequence, there is lukewarm response from parents and guardians in such regard, the petitioner said. He suggested that government representatives visit individual schools and meet the parents to make them aware and assure them of the safety of their wards if they travel to school and back in government buses.
An app had been prepared by the government as recorded in one of the previous orders, but the main issue appears to be the reliability of both the driver and helper in every bus and how the children are going to be protected by such persons.
According to the court, though the school issue is one of several in the context of the traffic congestion in this city, if half the number of parents who use cars to ferry their children to and from school resort to the public mode of service as introduced by the government, traffic would be substantially eased.
The state said that even government employees are being requested to take special buses which will start and end at designated places, but there does not appear to be much response to such a proposal.
According to the report filed on behalf of the state, the work on the Shillong Western Bypass is due to start in August. The state said that the western bypass is proposed to be widened and surfaced better to ease traffic on the arterial road.
But this will take time as the matter has not got off the drawing board yet.
Cabinet minister and East Shillong MLA, Ampareen Lyngdoh has advocated the idea of deploying traffic volunteers to man the traffic in Laitumkhrah area.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with the district administration and members of the Laitumkhrah Dorbar Pyllun, Lyngdoh suggested that the deputy commissioner should allow the Dorbar Shnong to engage traffic volunteers in certain areas and demarcate fresh spaces for parking.
Stating that the police are facing the problem of shortage of manpower, she said there are many unemployed youth who can be trained to manage traffic, parking, and help students cross the roads.
On the issue of hawkers, she said that she is looking at a scheme of having paved footpaths with overhead coverings and good lightings which will help the students and parents and other the public at large.
She also said that the Urkaliar area has become an eyesore due to the bootlegging in the whole stretch.
“Why should people indulge in bootlegging when there are legal wine stores? We need to put an end to this. I know I will become unpopular but it is necessary,” Lyngdoh added.
