When lifeline goes haywire!

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, July 5: The road that links Nepali Mandir in the Paltan Bazar area to NH-37 is always seen pockmarked, for reasons that are not far to seek. This is one of the busiest roads in the city, but it is recalled mainly for its dark side.

The entire stretch of the road has been given four mes – AK Azad Road, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bhose Road, Lokhra Road and Lalganesh Road –in as many stretches.

This one of the busiest roads in the city continues to receive less attention of those who mage roads. This road leads one to many important institutions like Arya Vidyapith College and HS School, BBCI, Kalichararan Hospital, Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) via Birubari, besides government offices and schools. Apart from this, either side of the road is thickly populated. Thus one may infer at ease what could be the rush of passenger-carrying vehicles like buses and share taxis on the road. However, the road looks very woebegone. It bears marks of neglect by those at the helm of affairs, all throughout.    

Neglect is glaring right from the starting point – the point at Nepali Mandir where metro share taxis start from. The taxi stand has a number of craters and it goes under water when it rains.

The road wears a pathetic looks in front of Arya Vidyapith College and HS School. Bitumen used to keep the construction material together on the road began to fray long back, leading to formation of a number of craters on the road. It is dappled with craters that lead to accidents. The very stretch of the road comes under knee-deep water when it rains.

The stretch of the road in front of Kalicharan Hospital is no better either. The bitumen used on the road has given up at many areas, making the road pockmarked. It also goes under knee-deep water when it rains.

The condition of the stretches of the road at Lokhara and Lalganesh is no different. These two stretches wear the look like the former two stretches.

Road was repaired when the Congress was in power. One can say without any hesitation that the repair work was shoddy. The present condition of the road proves it beyond doubt.

The people of the locality feel the road as their lifeline. The plight of the road speaks what their lifeline exactly is. They appeal to the powers that be at Dispur to see that their lifeline is not pockmarked, not dappled with crackers and does not go under water when it rains. When there are frequent and long traffic jams on the road, life goes haywire.