GUWAHATI: The condition of the Paltan Bazar, the busy commercial district of Guwahati has turned messy because of bad roads along with unfinished construction works, which have paved the way for massive traffic congestion.
The peak rush hour starts at around 9:45 AM when hoards of commuters are stuck in the traffic. People blame the ill-disciplined buses (both private buses and ASTC) for creating traffic snarls in the area.
It is unfortunate that a mixed-used locality like Paltan Bazar doesn't have a proper bus stand.
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Speaking to GPlus, Rakesh Singh a local resident of Paltan Bazar said, "Every morning, the bus point at Nepali Mandir heading towards GS Road gets crowded and movement becomes difficult for us.”
Singh is angry as the roads are full of potholes and are uneven, making it extremely difficult to drive.
The Paltan Bazar is a very crucial point as it connects both the eastern and western districts of the city, however, it is really a shame that the authorities can't do anything about the road.
When the correspondent from GPlus spoke to the official from the PWD New Guwahati Division, he said, "Although we keep constantly filling up the potholes, it gets damaged due to heavy vehicular activities.”
Speaking to GPlus, a traffic official from Paltan Bazar Police Station said, "Due to the bad roads, the movement of the vehicles is very slow and buses occupy most of the spaces.”
The traffic police official also said that the construction of the new foot overbridge happening at Paltan Bazar is also a major reason why the movement becomes difficult.
According to the details provided by the traffic official, there have been a series of accidents happening near the construction place.
"Last week, a girl fell down while she was on her scooter. The road was so uneven that she lost her balance,” the police official said. According to the local shopkeepers, accidents happen almost every hour.
The foot-over bridge construction, which has been happening for a year now, is unfortunately taking a lot of time.
Apparently, the main objective of the FOB was to provide an alternative commuting solution and to integrate seamlessly with the state-of-the-art upcoming railway station.
The construction work that was given to the contractor Anupam Sharma had to be halted due to a land acquisition issue. However, work has resumed, but due to its slow nature, the locals are totally frustrated.
Anupam Sharma, a local businessman from Paltan Bazar, speaking to GPlus said, “Although work has started, it is happening very slowly and customers aren't coming to my shop.”
A few private taxi drivers, who usually park their vehicles outside the ASTC campus also have voiced their dissatisfaction as this unfinished FOB (Foot over bridge) is meaningless and has taken away their parking space.
"We can't get any business there as there is a lack of space for us." Ranjender Singh, a cab driver said.
Even a few of the auto drivers have voiced their dissatisfaction that there is a lack of parking space and this has forced them to find an alternate parking spot, thus hampering their business.
Speaking on this matter to GPlus, another official from the PWD said, "As of now, we don't have the materials required for the construction of the FOB and hence the work is happening slowly."
The official said they are constantly in touch with the contractor and don’t know how soon the foot-over bridge will be completed at Paltan Bazar.
Due to this, a lot of street vendors have relocated to other parts of the footpath, which has caused massive problems for pedestrians.
Speaking on this, Rajeev Das a local resident of Paltan Bazar said, "Most of the footpaths are crowded with street vendors which makes it difficult for us to walk."
"Unless the government notices this, the problem will keep on increasing," he added.
Although the locality of Paltan Bazar requires immediate attention, local people are of the opinion that the government is not doing enough to bail them out of the messy situation.
