One-way road, or is it?
In Shillong, scooter riders seem to believe traffic rules are polite suggestions written by lawmakers and it may not be necessary to follow them even if it means risking your life.
Something similar was witnessed on Sunday afternoon when a girl riding a scooter decided to challenge the notion of one-way roads.
The entire stretch of Barik-Civil Hospital-IGP- DC Office and Raj Bhavan has been a one-way road for decades but she decided to give the rules a pass. Where it was an act of carelessness or lack of common sense remains to be debated.
As she was riding from Civil Hospital to Barik junction, other drivers and passers-by cautioned her against doing so, but she continued on her merry way.
Although there was no mishap, her act got people talking for a while, breaking the sleep and relaxed Sunday afternoon mood.
In Shillong, the wrong way is simply the way that gets you there first.
Tourist vehicles often face a dilemma on this stretch and at night, instances of trucks breaking the one-way rule are too frequent to miss.
There are many more instances where people’s driving skills defies logic. You are stuck in a traffic jam like countless others while vehicles are moving smoothly on the opposite side. You curse your luck and check your watch six times in 5 minutes and suddenly you will find a yellow coloured Maruti car carrying five in the rear seat and three in the front, with the driver pushed to the corner, overtaking you as if participating in a sprint for vehicles. Now, there is a traffic jam on both side, and you feel a little less hurt.
You question his thinking, murmur some words against him and check your watch again, and life goes on in Shillong.
City’s craters and cracks bloom ahead of Cherry Blossom festival
As Shillong gears up for the grand Cherry Blossom Festival, it seems the city’s roads have decided to join the celebration in their own unique way — by blooming with craters and cracks.
Be it the stretch from Umiam leading to the capital or the roads in Mawblei, their deteriorating condition has made potholes an unavoidable part of every journey. Not just the main thoroughfares, even internal roads in Shillong — such as those in Lapalang — are in disrepair, while the road connecting Boucher Road to Rhino Point appears to have more potholes than actual road surface.
It may be mentioned that every year, Shillong’s roads bear the brunt of the prolonged monsoon, only to be patched up temporarily. However, soon after the next rainy season, the same stretches inevitably return to their worn-out, pothole-riddled state.
And while the state is anticipating an additional 50,000 tourists to flock to the city during the Cherry Blossom Festival, perhaps a little attention towards providing visitors with a smoother ride wouldn’t hurt — after all, no one enjoys a bumpy welcome to the “Scotland of the East.”
