SHILLONG, Sep 13: The implementation of various projects by the NPP-led MDA government through stylish videos, vlogs, and PowerPoint presentations has not been commensurate with their implementation.
The Shillong ropeway, one of the most awaited of these projects, has not started nine months after President Droupadi Murmu laid its foundation. Officials are unsure if the project will take off although there are speculations about the work starting in October.
The city was similarly abuzz with the Shillong Smart Road project and more than a dozen other roads under the Shillong Smart City project a few years ago.
However, the Urban Affairs Department abandoned the smart road after closing a vital link in Lachumiere for over a year, marking it as non-feasible. There is no clarity about whether the smart road project will be completed or left half-done.
Again in February this year, the Meghalaya government laid the foundation for the Wahumkhrah Riverfront project. There has been no progress in these eight months.
The skywalk project from Barik to Police Bazar, announced by Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, has been abandoned on the pretext the area will witness a huge traffic jam once the construction starts.
It has also been a few years since it was announced that the electric buses would soon be rolled out in Shillong. There are no signs of these buses.
Moreover, the plan to turn Police Bazar into a pedestrian zone has not progressed beyond the paperwork as the number of hawkers keeps increasing. The tiles laid on the entire stretch of Police Bazar have worn out in several places and there is no attempt to replace them.
