Radium stickers on the divider starting to come off. Picture by Eastern Projections

Nov. 25: Before the dust could settle over the row of painting road dividers in the city white and mint green, a new controversy has been kicked off with Dispur deciding to put radium stickers over them instead of radium paint.

The need to use radium paint or stickers was felt because of the new colour scheme, which is less discernible that the usual black and yellow or black and white combination. The radium paint or stickers glow under the flash of headlights, warning drivers of the dividers.

However, the decision to use radium stickers instead of paint for dividers was taken after Dispur had purchased 1,000 litres of radium paint from Delhi.

P.K. Sarmah, president of the Assam Real Estate Infrastructure and Developers Association which was involved with the short-term projects for beautification of Guwahati before the car rally, explained the change in decision saying that there had been a slight misunderstanding.

?The paint was purchased for sample purpose. We did apply it on a small stretch near Kalukbari, but it did not work,? he said.

Sarmah said radium paint does not glow as bright on brick and cement structures as on metal surfaces. ?Radium paint works as a reflector over metallic surface. So the paint will be used only over metal billboards along the roads. We have started putting radium stickers on dividers,? he added.

Radium stickers have been put on dividers along RG Baruah Road, GNB Road, some parts of GS Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road and Airport Road. But they have already started coming off at some places.Earlier, the decision to paint the dividers white and green had generated a lot of heat with the traffic branch of the city police expressing apprehensions of more accidents.

The new colour combination generated sharp reactions among the medical fraternity too. The ophthalmologists of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital said though green was soothing for the eyes, painting road dividers this colour would be a risky proposition.

According to them, black and white is the best combination for dividers. Green, they said, does not contrast with white and would create vision problems, especially during foggy winter nights.

The new colour combination may pose yet another problem.

Painted green and white recently, the divider along the GS Road is already wearing a dirty look. AREIDA, however, blamed the PWD, saying the latter had spilled bitumen on it while repairing the road before the car rally.