NONGPOH, Jan 21: The presence of a four-lane highway in Ri-Bhoi — the National Highway 6 — has undeniably eased and expedited travel for the public. However, despite the wide and spacious design of the highway that allows four vehicles to travel side by side, traffic congestion continues to occur as witnessed during past incidents and in recent days along certain stretches where vehicles were stuck for hours.
One of the primary causes of this congestion is road accidents, including vehicle overturns and collisions, which often necessitate the use of only one side of the road by traffic authorities. In such situations, reckless driving and impatient overtaking by drivers exacerbate the congestion. Ongoing repair work on the highway has also added to the delays.
With regard to public concern over the lack of traffic police presence in accident-prone areas, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) of Ri-Bhoi, J Rabha, provided assurance that necessary steps would be taken and efforts would be made to address these issues and prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.
An official from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), overseeing the maintenance of the highway, was also consulted to understand why repair work is carried out only during the daytime, despite heavy traffic during those hours. The official explained that they are currently following instructions to conduct repairs only during the day. However, he assured that discussions would be held with higher authorities to explore the possibility of conducting repair work at night to reduce inconvenience for commuters.
