A freshly painted road divider in the city. Picture by Eastern Projections

Nov. 8: Guwahati will now be able to reveal its true colours ? and motorists will surely thank Dispur for that!

Workers have started applying coats of luminescent radium paint on dividers to preclude visibility problems for drivers.

Stung by criticism over painting road dividers and flyovers in the city with white and mint green on the eve of the Indo-Asean car rally, Dispur has taken the decision with alacrity.

A senior official said a huge quantity of white radium paint has been purchased from Delhi for application on dividers as well as flyovers in the city.

He said the radium paint would serve as luminescent reflectors at night. As a result, the possibility of accidents owing to the departure from conventional black-and-white can be ruled out.

The official said the decision to change the colour scheme was taken after a go-ahead was received from the public works department, which clarified that black, yellow and white was the preferable colour combination but not mandatory within city limits.

?It is mandatory only on national highways. We also wanted to check how a change in colour would look. The decision was taken at a meeting of officials, private investors and citizens on the beautification of the city before the rally,? the official added.

Assam Real Estate and Infrastructure Developers Association president P.K. Sarmah, who is involved in the painting exercise, said once the radium paint is applied, the dividers would glow and drivers? vision would be undisturbed.

The decision to paint dividers white and green had generated a lot of heat, with the traffic branch apprehending a spurt in the number of accidents.

The new colour combination had also generated sharp reactions from medical experts.

Assistant professor of the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology of Gauhati Medical College Hospital, Deepak Bhuyan, said though green is visually soothing, it does not contrast with white and would create visibility problems, especially on foggy winter nights.