By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Nov 15: The Cherry Blossom Festival at Polo Grounds, promoted as a cultural showcase and tourism magnet, has instead become a flashpoint for irritation and proximity fatigue among city residents. Citizens and public figures alike are calling out the government’s decision to host the event in the heart of a city already bursting at the seams
Saturday, the final day of the Festival, turned into an ordeal for residents living around the Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex, Polo, as loud music blared past midnight, prompting a wave of complaints from households in the vicinity.
Several residents contacted The Shillong Times to express their frustration, alleging that the organisers displayed “insensitivity” by allowing high-volume music late into the night. Families reported that the vibrations from the sound system were strong enough to shake their homes, posing a major disturbance—especially for households with young children.
Parents were particularly concerned as many school students are set to begin their promotion examinations on Monday. “Is it necessary to organise such an event in the heart of the city?” questioned a resident from Golf Links, adding that the timing and location were poorly thought out.
Residents also criticised the district authorities for granting permission for the concert to continue late into the night without considering the impact on those living nearby. According to multiple residents, the music continued until around 12:30am on Sunday.
They urged the authorities to enforce stricter regulations for future events and to ensure that public convenience is taken into account before granting late-night clearances.
Prominent Shillong resident Ashok Lyngdoh minced no words in highlighting the daily struggles caused by the festival’s location. “Right now traffic is bad enough and they should be popularising New Shillong. Shillong is already congested such concerts in the middle of the town people living all around Polo have to walk. People in the 70s who have to work for a living they have to walk. Senior citizens are suffering, schools,” he said, adding that hosting the event elsewhere would make more sense. “The best thing is they should have done it in New Shillong instead of having it in Polo.”
Lyngdoh described the arrangement as “absolute madness,” recounting a harrowing commute: “Yesterday, I left for Guwahati at 12 O’clock and it took me one-and-a-half hour to get to the highway. This is harassment for the people. You want to have shows, fine, have shows. It is good for the state but in open spaces like New Shillong with enough parking spaces. Why have it in Polo?” He noted that the congestion is a daily problem: “Even on normal days, school rush and everything, Polo is always blocked in the afternoon. It would have been much better in open places like Bhoi or New Shillong, promote them, even homestays and locals will earn and people will stay there also. Now everything is around Polo, everything is on a message they should have planned it out properly.”
Former civil servant Toki Blah echoed the frustration, questioning the government’s priorities. “We have nothing against tourism promotion but holding such big concerts in the city which is already choked with traffic even on a normal day shows government enthusiasm without thinking about the interest of the public. It is as simple as that. How do people go to work, children go to school?”
He argued that festivals could be better used to support rural livelihoods. “Why can’t they do outside Shillong, do it in some open field. Give livelihood opportunities to remote isolated areas. Here people are cursing this event and they are right to do so. I don’t know what is happening with Tourism minister,” he said.
Adding a medical dimension to the criticism, cardiologist Dr Shynrang Warjri warned that the consequences of such congestion extend well beyond civic inconvenience.
“Shillong may be the designated music capital of the country, and these concerts undeniably bring tourism, vibrancy, and important opportunities for local artists. But hosting large events in the heart of an already overburdened city is no longer sustainable,” he said.
Dr Warjri expressed particular concern for patients requiring emergency care: “Speaking as a doctor, the consequences go far beyond inconvenience. I’ve seen patients suffer the worst possible outcomes simply because they were stuck in traffic. Heart attack patients who could have been saved within the crucial golden three-hour window reach the hospital late, not because treatment isn’t available, but because the roads are impassable.”
“This is not just a civic issue — it’s a matter of life and death,” he added. “If we truly want to preserve Shillong’s identity as a music capital while also respecting the wellbeing of its residents, we need a proper designated event space outside the congested core — whether in New Shillong, Ri-Bhoi, or any other suitable location.”
Meanwhile, complaints continue to pour in on social media. One user wrote: “…it continues till 12 at night with heart patients and other elderly at home in the vicinity, flouting all the guidelines for noise pollution by Supreme Court. And even worse when the residents spoke to the DC yesterday, she said, ‘Why did you not complain earlier. It’s too late now.’”
