GUWAHATI: In the midst of Guwahati, each morning, buses from both the Khanapara and Lokhra sides of the city converge on the Nepali Mandir area, leading to significant traffic congestion in that vicinity and ultimately causing massive chaos in city traffic.
Despite a bus stop being present in Paltan Bazar, it is surprising that bus drivers do not stop there. This is causing a massive cause for concern for the nearby residents or for people who use that specific route.
Speaking to GPlus in this context, Jun Rehman Choudhary, a resident of Rehabari said, "The only indicator of this point is a signboard, which often goes unnoticed amid the chaotic morning traffic, and these drivers don't park at the demarcated point."
To deal with the traffic congestion, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) was asked to take urgent necessary steps for the installation of proper signages at 60 designated bus stoppages within Guwahati city.
Transport Department officials have claimed that GMC has remained unconcerned about the immediate installation of the signages citing a lack of funds.
Speaking to GPlus, the DCP traffic, Jayanta Sarathi Borah has said, "We have fined the drivers on several occasions, however, these e-challans go to the owners of the buses, and the drivers are not fazed by this."
The DCP also stated that most of the time, these fines are not paid, so it will be made mandatory eventually to penalise the driver and handyman rather than the owners so that they don't break the rules.
Majority of city bus owners, the bus service serves as a supplementary source of income. Many of them have other primary businesses or engagements. Typically, they entrust the bus to a driver who receives a fixed daily wage. In numerous instances, the drivers and conductors are not permanent employees. They receive their remaining amount after meeting the agreed payment to the owner, this becomes their earnings.
This system motivates the bus workers to strive for more passengers, as any extra income generated from increased ridership is retained by them. Consequently, this competitive pursuit of passengers often leads to traffic congestion.
Guwahati has around 600 privately owned city buses of which 495 operate within the city and out of 495, only 386 buses are allowed to operate every day.
Speaking to GPlus, an official from the District Transport Office said, "There are daily inspections conducted by the enforcement branch, and we are nabbing these City bus drivers, however, due to insufficient manpower, these inspections aren't very effective.
Furthermore, another official from the DTO stated that, currently, there are a lot of development works happening in Guwahati and part of this is also the reason why the roads are jam-packed.
The issue of improper management of city buses needs to be addressed by the authorities in a more well-equipped way in order to tame the flow of city traffic in the region and avert certain accidents along with chaos.