Much has been said about Shillong’s Smart City Project. But there are several reasons that make Shillong an unsmart, non-viable city at present. For one the city is getting hotter by the day and that’s inevitable considering the dwindling lung spaces in the heart of the city. All other cities like Kolkata, Delhi etc., make it a point to grow trees by the side of the road. Here there is an obsession to fell as many trees as possible on any pretext. With added floors being allowed to be constructed and the population explosion in Shillong City leading to a mad rush for building spaces, whatever trees there were have vanished. Only a few homes still have a semblance of a garden and a few trees dotting their compounds. Others have become stark, cemented structures with not a leaf in sight.
Second, the number of cars on the road make Shillong the most car-populous city with roads remaining where they were 50 years ago and with no scope for expansion. Statistics inform that about 27,000 students commute in private vehicles between Barik and Laitumkhrah daily. This is what adds to the traffic chaos. To address this the Government requisitioned the STEMS school buses which are run professionally and can be monitored on real time basis and with one caretaker each on board to deal with any exigency. But most parents insist on dropping their kids to school in private vehicles. It is no longer possible for the Shillong Traffic Police to streamline traffic. They are only trying to do their jobs without much success. Some things are just not doable but the STP cannot say that in so many words. In every other city of consequence there are traffic lights which make crossing at intersections a smooth process that does not allow for any arbitrariness. In Shillong this basic necessity is wanting even while the city boasts of being SMART. Traffic lights will ensure that traffic from one side moves within a given timing and that traffic on the main road is not given precedence over others coming out of by-lanes.
The pollution from vehicular traffic is phenomenal and traffic policemen bear the brunt of this throughout the day. But so do pedestrians who walk on the roads including those school/college students who cannot afford to be dropped and picked at from the school gate. Should the Government not think of this health concern? Is there some statistics of the number of patients with respiratory ailments in this city? If there isn’t this data is much needed. The STEMS buses operate below capacity because the parents of students in the more elite schools refuse to allow their kids to use them. School authorities plead helplessness. Its time for the MDA Government to act SMART and enforce regulations on use of school buses as is the norm in every other city. Government must act in larger public interest and not pander to private whims. That’s called SMART governance.
