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Traffic snarl throws life in Shillong out of gear

By Raju Das

SHILLONG, Nov 28 � The nightmarish traffic on National Highway 40 has thrown life in the State capital here totally out of gear, forcing the Meghalaya Government to review the entry timings of heavy vehicles carrying non-essential commodities into the city.

�It has been an abnormally bad traffic on the Highway and the city�the entry timings of heavy vehicles into the city would be reviewed,� Chief Secretary, WMS Pariat said at a press briefing today.

The traffic came to a standstill on the Highway after an 18-wheeler truck overturned at a road near the congested Nongthymmai area in the city, which doubles up as a National Highway. The accident created a chaos in the city with school children and teachers walking for miles to reach their respective schools for their respective annual examinations.

Not just today, almost everyday the city is choc-a-bloc with trucks trying to squeeze through the narrow city streets. Most of the trucks snail their way from the heavy overnight highway traffic and try to frustratingly veer through the city streets creating heavy traffic snarls.

The traffic on NH-40 has been compounded due to two factors. First, the Shillong-Guwahati Highway is being four-laned under the Central Government�s initiative and construction work holds up traffic. Secondly, the recent Supreme Court ruling that coal laden trucks cannot carry beyond nine metric tonnes of load has increased traffic density.

�Earlier one truck used to carry about 21 metric tonnes of load, now after the apex Court ruling, on an average three trucks are used to carry a load of 21 metric tonnes. This has increased traffic density on the highway beyond expectations,� the Chief Secretary said.

Pariat, moreover, said that NH-40 and NH-44 that passes through Ri-Bhoi, East Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills district is a transit route for trucks to reach Barak Valley in Assam, Mizoram and Tripura. As such the State Government has little say on reducing traffic on these vital highways.

He added that the traffic police are trying its best to salvage the situation and lots of thought is being put to ease the traffic situation, besides reviewing the entry timings of heavy traffic. He said special care would be taken by the traffic police to help people in emergency situations to reach their destinations on time.

Expressing optimism, the Chief Secretary said that once the Shillong bypass is completed, traffic situation would improve. �We are expecting that the bypass would be completed by April next year,� he said.

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