YEAR IN REVIEW
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 28: The year 2023 is about to come to an end but issues pertaining to infrastructure of the state have remained unresolved.
One of the issues is traffic jam in Shillong. The problem has only compounded and there is no solution in sight.
The narrow roads have not been widened. Then, there are potholes galore. The state government often expressed concern over the traffic problem but did nothing on the ground to give relief to people.
It had announced its plan about constructing a skywalk but put it on hold on the ground that the construction of the project would cause massive traffic jam. The government said it would resolve the bottlenecks before moving ahead with the project.
Similarly, the Shillong Ropeway project also failed to take off. Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh recently said the foundation stone for the project would be laid by the second week of January next year.
The Shillong-Dawki Road project has also remained stalled. Although a new company has been awarded the contract for Package 1 of the project till Upper Shillong, no construction work is visible till now.
The other packages are still at the DPR stage after the previous implementing agencies abandoned the work for varied reasons.
As regards the power sector, the demand for power is increasing by the day but the state continues to lack hydropower projects. The government has not spelt out if it has any plans to develop more power projects.
The new building of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly at New Shillong Township is still far from completion. The project suffered a massive setback after the dome of the under-construction building collapsed in 2022. However, the government is hoping to hold the next Autumn Session of the Assembly at the new Assembly building.
The public transportation system in Shillong continues to remain old and outdated with no modern intervention. The government is yet to roll out the much-talked-about electric buses. App-based travel services like Ola and Uber are still a distant dream.
The Centre is connecting remote areas of the Northeast with railway but the railway project in the Khasi Hills continues to remain stalled over concerns expressed by various organisations about the likely influx of illegal immigrants. They want to Centre to implement the Inner Line Permit first. The government’s move to bring railway in Jaintia Hills has also met with opposition.
Many of the projects under Shillong Smart City Project are running behind schedule.
This year, the government failed to expand the Shillong Airport although necessary exercise is underway to facilitate the movement of bigger aircraft at the airport.