SHILLONG, Sep 24: The High Court of Meghalaya has taken serious note of the obstructions to the movement of traffic, hoping further others would not be required for action to be taken against the officials concerned.
Hearing a PIL filed by Romilton Pahsyntiew on Tuesday, the bench of acting Chief Justice HS Thangkhiew and Justice B Bhattacharjee said it expects the district authorities to take immediate steps so that the PWD (Roads) maintains the right of way along public roads, including the removal of obstructions to the entrances of public health institutions.
During the hearing, the petitioner filed an additional affidavit linked to a September 9 order, annexing photographs of iron plates that had not been installed properly and traffic congestion at many places.
The court observed that R Colney, the government’s advocate, had nothing new to submit apart from repeating an earlier submission on making the CCTV cameras functional in three more months.
The court also noted that certain measures have not been implemented despite an order issued by the Superintendent of Police of East Khasi Hills on February 14. It sought action on the SP’s order immediately.
The petitioner had filed the PIL in 2023 seeking action against the failure on the part of the law enforcement agencies to enforce stringent provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 with regard to reckless and negligent riding of two-wheelers at a high speed within the district.
The PIL prayed for appropriate directions to be issued to the traffic enforcement agencies to strictly enforce the Motor Vehicles Act and to install proper check at strategic points to stem the menace of reckless and negligent driving by two-wheelers.
