By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 3: The Shillong Traffic Police announced traffic diversions and no-entry zones across the city on Thursday for the North Eastern Council (NEC) Plenary Meeting at the State Convention Centre. Restrictions start at 7 am until officially withdrawn.
At Gurudwara and YWCA Junctions, vehicles from Lower Lachumiere and St. Anthony’s College will be diverted toward St. Anthony’s College and AIR Junction, while those from Civil Secretariat Junction will be redirected to Pinewood Junction.
At Pinewood and Matri Mandir Junctions, traffic from Raj Bhavan to Civil Secretariat will be diverted via Bivar Road, and CRPF Junction vehicles will be directed to 4th Furlong.
Additional diversions will be enforced from 8.30 am at 4th Furlong Point and B.K. Bajoria Junction. Vehicles proceeding from Polo and B.K. Bajoria areas will be diverted through B.K. Bajoria Junction, while traffic coming from NEEPCO will be routed towards Shillong Commerce College.
The traffic police have also informed that the stretch of Jail Road from the Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School Junction to the Jail Road Petrol Pump Junction will remain closed to vehicular movement until 12 noon on Thursday. Motorists travelling through the area will be diverted via Jail Road Market.
With Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of the northeastern states arriving on Wednesday evening and the NEC plenary beginning on Thursday, the city is undergoing last-minute preparations. Workers are patching potholes, repainting road dividers, refreshing lane markings, and marking speed breakers along VIP routes, while police have been deployed in large numbers at junctions and strategic locations.
The sudden maintenance burst has revived public questions about why routine upkeep receives priority only before VIP visits.
Meanwhile, East Khasi Hills District Magistrate Abhilash Baranwal has declared a no-drone zone within 3 km of the State Convention Centre from June 3-5 under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), prohibiting drone and UAV operations due to security concerns for attending VVIPs.
