Jan. 12: The Kamrup metropolitan district administration has decided to appeal to the Doner ministry for funds to build a separate road for VIPs from Bhangagarh to the Bharalumukh point.
Deputy commissioner A.K. Absar Hazarika said the plan was in a nascent stage and the administration would discuss it with the other departments. ?If everything goes well, the proposal will be moved within the current financial year,? he said.
According to the initial plan, the movement of VIPs on GS Road from Dispur to the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport will be diverted near the Bharalu bridge point. The VIPs will then take ASEB Road and cross Fatasil Ambari and Athgaon Kabarsthan before taking Mahatma Gandhi Road.
Similarly, VIPs travelling from the airport on Mahatma Gandhi Road will be diverted at the Bharalumukh point and will have to cross Fatasil Ambari, Athgaon Kabarsthan on ASEB Road before taking GS Road.
?This way we can reduce traffic congestion on the busy GS Road, Stadium Road and Chandmari Road to a great extent. Moreover, there will be no stops for the VIPs,? an official said.
The administration is also planning to submit a project to construct a flyover on this particular stretch of the road so that traffic is not disrupted by the VIPs? convoys.
If the proposal is passed, it will go a long way in reducing the woes of the traffic personnel and commuters. ?VIP movement not only creates traffic snarls, but also endangers the lives of other people because of the speed at which the cars travel,? said Aparajita Baruah, an advocate.
Dhiren Baruah, senior citizen and president of Save Guwahati Build Guwahati, said, ?If our ministers and bureaucrats are so busy, they should take another road.?
A traffic policeman said that at a time when the main roads like GS Road are choked because of the increasing number of vehicles, frequent VIP movement is a big headache.
According to figures available with the district transport office, the city has registered over 18,799 vehicles in 2003-04, an increase from the 16,671 in 2002-03. The number of new registrations was 11,993 in 2000-1 and 14,431 the following year. Figures of 2004-05 are yet to be compiled.
