Shillong, Sept 28: To solve traffic congestion in the city, an idea to construct a multi-storey parking facility was proposed so that vehicles can drop off and pick up students before and after school hours without any hassle.
The idea was mooted at the meeting of the Meghalaya State Planning Board (MSPB) chaired by its chairman Lambor Malngiang in the presence of officials from various departments of the state government here on Friday.
Officials from the education, police, public works department (PWD), Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) and other line departments attended the meeting.
Malngiang said that the meeting took stock of the traffic congestion in the state capital and termed it a “chronic disease†which has gone from bad to worst.
“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.
He informed that the Board would recommend to the state government for construction of a multi-storey parking facility at the PWD premises at Barik Point, as it is centrally located for schools like Step By Step, Pinemount, All Saints, Seven Sets so that vehicles dropping off and picking up students from these schools can park there.
“This will ensure that no vehicles on school duty can park on roadside which is one of the main causes to the traffic snarls in the city,†he said.
A joint inspection at the PWD campus will be conducted on October 3.
Malngiang said that Board has also asked the concerned departments to write to all educational institutions located in the heart of the city to use school buses for dropping and picking up of students, adding that the government was ready to provide buses to the school authorities
The Meghalaya Energy Coporation Limited (MeECL) was also directed to shift electricity poles on the roadsides.
Malngiang also said that board would also recommend the state government to come up with a policy to regulate the purchase of new cars.
“The district transport office (DTO) on an average registered not less than 80 new vehicles a day despite the fact that more than one lakh vehicles are plying in the city roads every day,†he said.
On expansion of roads in areas wherever possible and construction of new link roads, Malngiang said that the Board would propose to the government to identify new link roads which include from Laitkor to Malki, Motinagar to Lumparing and from Umïam to Mawlai.
Malngiang also informed that the Board has decided to constitute a working group involving various departments, and the working group would notified within 10 days.