SHILLONG, SEPT 28: The Meghalaya State Planning Board (MSPB) has decided to propose the construction of a multi-storey parking facility for vehicles dropping off and picking up kids from schools as one of the remedies to ease traffic congestion problem in the city.
Various suggestions were also made during a meeting chaired by the MSPB Chairman Lambor Malngiang with officials of the different departments including education, police, public works department (PWD), Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) and others here on Friday.
Malngiang told reporters that the meeting has taken note of the present problem of traffic congestion in the state capital which is like a chronic disease that has gone from bad to worst affecting every citizens and road users.
He said all concerned departments have been invited in order to come up with valuable suggestions to ease the traffic congestion problem which has also been a subject of debate in the just concluded autumn session of the state Assembly.
“We have therefore taken a stand that we will not bow down but will try our level best to remove this problem faced by the commuters,” he added.
Informing that the Board has decided to recommend the state government for construction of a multi-storey parking facility at the PWD premises at Barik Point, Malngiang said this would caters to vehicles dropping off and picking up students from different schools located in the area.
“I will also conduct a joint inspection to the PWD campus on October 3 before submitting the proposal to the government,” he said adding this will ensure that there is no parking of vehicles on school duty on the roadsides which has been contributed to the traffic snarls.
According to him, the location is centrally located for dropping the children to these schools like Seven Set, Pinemount, All Saints, Step by Step and others.
The board’s chairman further informed the department concerned has also been asked to immediately write to all the educational institutions located at the heart of the city to use school buses for dropping and picking up students.
“The government is also ready to facilitate by providing buses to such educational institutions to curb the use of one student – one car,” he said while asking the urban affairs department to provide details on the STPS red buses that are lying unused.
The Meghalaya Energy Coporation Limited (MeECL) is also directed to shift electricity poles on the roadsides.
Besides proposing the need to expand and widen the roads in the city, Malngiang also said that board would also recommend the state government to come up with a policy to regulate the purchase of new cars.
He stated that district transport office (DTO) on an average is issuing registration for not less than 80 new vehicles a day despite the fact that more than one lakh vehicles are plying the city roads daily.
“We will definitely come up with a policy to make it mandatory that people who are buying new cars should ensure they have proper parking space as at present lots of vehicle owners are parking their cars on the roadsides,” Malngiang said.
He said that the board would also proposed the need to identify new link roads which include from Laitkor to Malki, from Motinagar to Lumparing and from Barapani to Mawlai as part of the measures to decongest the Shillong city.
Meanwhile, the board has also decided to form a working group involving different departments, which will be notified within ten days.
By Our Reporter
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