By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 13: Road traffic has been managed well at the site of under-repair Umiam bridge.
However, vehicles on either side are made to wait for 5 to 10 minutes for their turn to cross.
A ‘no overtaking’ board has been put up in the middle of the road to remind drivers not to overtake half a kilometre ahead of the bridge. It is being complied with, mostly. A private SUV was on Saturday seen attempting to overtake vehicles already in the queue but the guards on duty prevented it. The driver was asked to join the queue like everyone else.
The rules, however, ostensibly do not apply to VIP cars. Two government boleros, escorted by a siren-blowing gypsy, were seen overtaking other vehicles and stopping right at the start of the bridge. The guards did not make a fuss about it.
When the wait in the queue was long, many vehicles took a detour from the Old VIP Road at Mawlai Mawtawar which leads to Shillong Bypass.
Power Minister AT Mondal had on Thursday led a high-level delegation to oversee the Umiam Stage-I Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) works. Given the importance of traffic management, Mondal instructed officials to increase manpower on either side of the Umiam bridge.