By Riwanki Suchiang
There are four major issues that mar the beauty of Shillong. These are (1) Congested Road Conditions(b) (2) Drainage System (3) Waste Management (4) Electrical Posts and The Outdoor Wires/Cables System.
Congested road condition:
All of us are talking about the same thing everyday, that is the traffic jam in Shillong which is mainly due to the congested road conditions. Of course there are also several major factors adding to the problem, like parking of vehicles close to the main road; unnecessary overtaking of vehicles instead of waiting in the queue. I am always taken up by that picture which was taken in Mizoram which is circulating on social media where several vehicles stand on the queue including two wheelers waiting for their turn to move. I heard from my friend from Mizoram that traffic discipline is still being followed every day in that state. Why can’t this be observed in Shillong too?
Expanding the road width seems impossible as we see now in Shillong because of the houses built right next to the road and the land tenure system (the right of tribal people to own land). Certainly, the expansion of the road is possible through compensation which requires a huge amount of money to be paid to the land owners. If the government is seriously committed to doing that for the good of its people once and for all it would resolve all our problems. Fly-overs seems to be impossible dream because of the landscape of the area. However rwhat runs wild in my imagination is that there is a chance for making fly-overs, if and only if the government is ready to invest in them by constructing them all along the “Wahumkhrah” river and it’s tributaries. This can be done through new and advanced scientific technology. If Shillong City were to have good road conditions it would be the best place in the world to live in.
Drainage system &
waste management:
As, I move around the City of Shillong, I’m always disturbed by the way the side-drains are being treated. Some parts are filled with garbage from domestic households and give out a stench. Some drains are filled with mud during the rainy season and are kept without being cleaned for years together. Some are filled with weeds and grass and left uncleared until the drainage is blocked but the most insensitive act is when the drain is being filled with beer bottles and plastics dumped by passers-by and drunkards. Also the most disappointing thing about the drainage system in Shillong is that the water pipes pass through them. In some places the pipes clog the drains and water flows into the streets. We don’t even know that the drain exists. Nowadays the pipelines are increasing in number and even start encroaching into the main road. In some places attempts have been made to cover the drains in order that the place looks clean and undisturbed to the passersby. For instance the drainage at Laitumkhrah, Boyce Road behind the Shillong College is properly covered. That could be the best example and we feel nice to walk through that place as we don’t get the stench from those drains. If we want to see Shillong as a clean City I think its drainage system should be cleaned regularly and covered properly.
I’m sure by now in Shillong or elsewhere through the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his mission of Swacch Bharat, somehow everyone is told how to handle the waste material and where to throw the waste products especially plastic and papers after they are used. But, sad to see people throw plastic everywhere they like, unconsciously and worse still consciously, while many of us are just watching them and doing nothing about it. It is really disheartening to see that common sense is not common to everyone. Do we even dare to stop someone if he/she throws plastic in front of us? There are some who if they are told to stop throwing by the roadside would instead justify, by saying that there are no dustbins by the roadside hence they throw it anywhere, which of course is true. There were times in Shillong, I recall when we saw dustbins being kept at some corners of the road-side. I saw some of those being burnt and some were stolen by miscreants. The lack of a sense of belongingness to the city of Shillong and the lack of proper waste management are what destroy the reputation of the city.
Electrical posts
and the outdoor wires/cables function:
Last but not the Least, for me the setting up of the Outdoor Electrical Post Systems in many towns, cities of India and especially in Shillong and also the Outdoor Wires/Cables Function indeed spoil the beauty of Shillong City. In Shillong if you want to take a picture of the place or a picture of yourselves you can never avoid the picture of a bundle of wires hanging over from one post to the next one. It could be the electrical wires or cables of other devices. The most noticeable one, to cite an example, is near the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians in Laitumkhrah in front of the Calvary. Above the fencing, those bundles of wires which are an eyesore and spoil the ambiance of the place. In some places there are too many wires entangling into one another. I often wonder how the lineman can recognize the correct wire of the exact place. The Outdoor Electrical Wires System not only spoils the scenery of Shillong but has also accidentally claimed many lives in the past. If all these are kept underground it would be well appreciated and our beloved City will be a model city.
It is difficult to introduce new things immediately but certainly as a concerned citizen of our City, I look forward to a new beginning in the near future. A great city is not to be confused with a populous one.It is a city where citizens have a “sense of responsibility and sense of belongingness”.
(The writer is a student of CTE (PGT) Shillong).