Few care to heed the ‘no parking’ boards in Guwahati

No space for regulations

Roadside parking has led to major snarls along many busy roads in Guwahati. Vehicles parked haphazardly by the kerb reduce the width of the carriageway, thereby creating bottlenecks. For instance, the stretch of RP Road from Ganeshguri Chariali to Ganesh Mandir is almost non-negotiable during the office rush hours for this very reason.

The weaving movement of vehicles coming out of or entering the parking area earmarked on one side of the road holds up movement of vehicles on the main road.

The problem will not be solved unless adequate parking space, like the one available in a multi-storeyed parking plaza, is created.

Instead of concentrating on measures like riverfront beautification that are entirely cosmetic, the state government should first address the basic problems like ever growing traffic congestion. Other hazards faced by residents include lack of proper drinking water, poor streetlighting, potholed roads and overflowing drains, among others, that affect our daily life.

Dr. P.N. Bharali
Kahilipara, Guwahati

Hell route

Road that looks like a field

A journey to Upper Assam from Guwahati along National Highway 37 has become a nightmare ever since work on widening the road began nearly two years back.

The plight of the poorly maintained busy highway has made it impossible to differentiate the road from the adjoining paddy fields.

A journey through it leaves any traveller fatigued for not less than three days. By the time the new highway of the East-West Corridor project is ready for traffic — which could be not less than two more years — it seems there will be not a single patch of black-topped road left.

The condition of the road is undoubtedly going to take its toll on the tourism sector in the season ahead. Prices of the essential commodities too are skyrocketing in Upper Assam because of poor road condition as it affects transportation costs.

It is high time the authorities concerned take note of the road condition, particularly between Guwahati and Nagaon, and improve it, keeping in view the hardship the travellers are going through as well as the state’s economic development.

Ajay Kumar Borah,
Sivasagar