GUWAHATI, Feb 21 � Pedestrians are having a difficult time in different parts of the city while crossing streets, and children and senior citizens especially face incredible odds in stretches with dense traffic. Worryingly, several accidents have taken place just because people had to move across roads with hardly any control over traffic flow.
The widening of roads, building of overbridges, and increasing number of vehicles, and the lack of zebra crossings, have all made it an ordeal for the pedestrian to reach the other side of the road.
A resident of Bhangagarh, Purnima Das, complained that she finds it nerve-wracking to cross the GS Road nowadays. �After the building of the Bhangagarh flyover the speed of vehicles has gone up�and for people on foot it�s a dangerous situation. Sometimes we have to spend 15 minutes or more to reach the other side,� she mentioned.
Although local residents have been crying hoarse for the construction of foot overbridges or underpasses for a long time, their demand has so far been ignored by the authorities concerned.
A similar situation has been observed near the Assam Secretariat and near Ganeshguri where people on foot have been put at risk in the absence of any overbridge or under pass. �Two members of my family met with accidents around Ganeshguri while walking across the road� said Mustafa Laskar who believes that schoolchildren have suffered the most due to the absence of a dedicated pedestrian crossing.
Dangerous situations occur close to the Fancy Bazar bus stop where thousands of people cross the MG Road that sees traffic congestion every working day. Pedestrians who visit the busy market place have to be extra cautious while trying to cross the road. But that has not stopped mishaps from taking place, making it one of the most accident prone parts of the city.
The need for foot overbridges has also been felt at Adabari, GNB Road and in the Gauhati University campus. While traffic congestion on the GNB Road has now become a norm, speeding vehicles create risks for pedestrians seeking to cross the road near Adabari and in the GU campus.
Kanak Basumatary, a frequent visitor to the university campus said that there should at least two foot overbridges at Gopinath Bardoloi Nagar. �Near the main entrance rumble strips slow down the speed of vehicles, but as a result the narrow stretch becomes filled with vehicles,� he noted.
When contacted a well placed official of the Guwahati Development Department acknowledging the problem said that plans have been made to build at least eight footbridges in different parts of the city. �The facilities would serve people in areas such as Maligaon, Bhangagarh, Lachit Nagar and Dispur, among others. Work on the one at Maligaon has already started,� he informed.
Asked about the likely date of completion of the footbridges, the official said that three or four could be completed within a year or so. A project to construct an underpass near the Deputy Commissioner�s office at Kachari is also on the anvil, he added.
Another source in the department said that although the amenities could emerge in the months ahead, it is uncertain if those would be user friendly to the aged, the infirm and the physically challenged. �Even though the one at Bharalumukh was built quite recently, it is of no use for the old and the disabled,� he admitted.
