SILCHAR, Nov 14 � Even as narrow roads are being blamed for the frequent traffic jams in Silchar, the lackadaisical attitude of the road users and poor traffic management are adding to the most annoying and routine problem.
�I�m sick and tired of being stuck up for long hours with vehicles stranded on the road,� said a visibly annoyed commuter, who had to reach his office at Shillongpatty for an important meeting, only to give it a miss. On the other hand, a section of denizens cite the laxity on the part of the authorities in enforcing the rule on the violators for the traffic chaos.
The Monday afternoon�s traffic scene at the Bilpar-Hospital Road junction left many utterly disgusted. A solitary traffic policeman stood haplessly trying his best to disperse the jam that continued till evening.
This is not an isolated story. The traffic situation in Silchar is getting chaotic with every passing day. Thousands of people travel everyday on the road stretches of the second biggest urban sprawl in the North East, but barely a handful of them manage to escape the chaos.
Encroachment on footpaths is also adding to the woes of pedestrians, as most of the pavements are being occupied by vendors, setting up goods and makeshift stalls. Another major reason that has compounded the problem is the attitude of two-wheeler users and autorickshaw drivers, who park their vehicles along the road in a haphazard manner.
Is the town�s infrastructure and traffic planning the root cause of people�s woes? Diganta Bora, the Superintendent of Police, Cachar, in a recent meeting with a public forum, had made it clear that the police is ready to help only if the district administration, in consultation with other agencies, instructs it to take action. He had categorically mentioned that the municipality has to control the 11,000 unlicensed rickshaws moving inside the municipal area, besides the 4,000 rickshaws with valid licences. He had also said that the district administration must act tough on the footpath encroachers.
Susmita Dev, chairperson of the local civic board, too, echoed similar sentiments, passing the buck on the police and the district administration, ahead of the Durga Puja festival. And despite the administration�s decision to shift the Sumo stands outside the municipal area, nothing much has changed.
Amidst this chaotic situation, the people might have to change their habit of parking vehicles, as they wait for stringent actions aimed at minimising the traffic woes.
