GUWAHATI, Sept 9 - The traffic management system in Guwahati has become highly erratic. It seems that the city police is least bothered about bailing the Guwahatians and their guests out of the traffic snarls that have become a common feature in the city these days.
Or else, there would have been official attempts at restricting the rise in the number of vehicles, defiance of the existing laws by whimsical vehicle owners and operators, encroachment on the roads, etc., said voluntary organisation Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) here today.
The Guwahati-Shillong (GS) Road at Paltan Bazaar has now been opened for two-way movement of city buses. Other vehicles plying on this road are diverted to the GS Road Bengali Boys� Higher Secondary School point via Nepali Mandir and Meghdoot Cinema Hall, from the Janata Hotel point. This has resulted in two horrible traffic snarls at the Janata Hotel point and the Bengali Boys� HS School point. The latter one is more appalling.
This has made movement of all vehicles on the GS Road and the Mohammad Shah Road virtually impossible, lengthening the travel time between Janata Hotel point and Bengali Boys� HS School, a distance of nearly one kilometre, to around 40 minutes. This is also leading to environmental pollution and wastage of crores of rupees every day in the name of unnecessary burning of fuel.
To manage traffic movement in this area, city police has to mobilise extra traffic police personnel, withdrawing them from many city areas. This leads to traffic chaos in those areas from where the traffic police personnel are withdrawn.
The city police has also closed the gaps of the dividers for all automobile vehicles. This has also aggravated the city�s problem of traffic snarls.
Moreover, most of the automatic signals on the city road junctures are out-of-order for quite a long time. There is no visible effort on the part of the authorities to restore these signals, said the voluntary organisation.
Again, the city police seems to be in league with vehicle owners, who are fond of parking their vehicles right on the roads throwing all rules and regulations to the wind. This has made many city roads like the AT Road, GNB Road, Hem Baruah Road, Sati Joymati Road, Someswar Choudhury Road, Bhuban Road, MC Road and parts of MG Road and B Kakati Road, virtually inaccessible during peak hours on working days.
The city police has also turned a blind eye to the vehicles parked round-the-clock on Sir Sadulla Road, Sati Joymati Road, Chambers of Commerce Road, SRCB Road and FA Road, among others.
The police is also turning a blind eye to the practice of city bus operators using any part of their routes as bus stops, said the voluntary organisation.
