A very common conversation starter in Guwahati these days is about the horrible traffic situation in the city. Almost all sections of society, be it a commuter on a city bus, a bike taxi or a personal vehicle, everyone happens to be under the grip of this dreadful traffic congestion that plagues the city.
And the toppings; rampant construction, horrible driving sense and at times administrative mismanagement, have made driving around the city quite the trouble.
God forbid, if you have a medical emergency at 5 pm in the evening and you happen to be at Dr Bhabendra Nath Saika road, only a Helicopter can make you reach the hospital on time because there is absolutely no space even for an ambulance to pass.
Though it’s still a conversation starter, but kid you not, driving around the city on a regular basis can give you knee pain and backache, if you already don’t have high sugar and blood pressure. Maybe, we should leave it for a medical survey to validate such medical claims.
An analysis of the traffic situation however is very much needed, with the ever-increasing number of cars and other commercial vehicles, coupled with the ever-plagued, negligible driving sense. Here’s an observation.
To begin with, Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia Road, or Basistha Road, the stretch from Last Gate of Dispur to Basistha Chariali, isn’t exactly a very wide one. But in this one stretch, you have cars, buses, trucks, rickshaws, e-rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, handheld pickups, commercial pickup vans and whatnot, playing all the time. To add on, you have markets sitting on stretches, with the road passing the ever-busy Beltola Bozar, plus parking on either side of the road. City buses playing on the road, often choke the entire road when they stop for passengers, as there is absolutely no space at times to pass.
This situation can be applied to numerous other roads in the city. This brings in the question, is there a need to regulate public transport routes in the city?
Regulating public transport in the city
There has been a mushroom growth of e-rickshaws in the city. On the one hand, it does provide employment to a lot of people, and ease of access to thousands who use public transport, however, the apparent unregulated growth in the number of these EVs has started creating quite some nuisance on the roads.
Do some of the main roads in the city really require city buses, metro taxis, e-rickshaws, and rickshaws to be playing at the same time? Can’t it be regulated for ease of access?
Growing vehicles in the city and out of Assam registered vehicles
However, it’s not just the public transport vehicles that cause most of the agony. Drivers of four-wheelers and two-wheelers also contribute to the fair share of this great Indian show. With time, Guwahati has seen a drastic increase in the number of vehicles. According to a report in the Times of India, the city has seen a 17% increase in vehicle population in 2022 over the previous year, while 2021 saw an increase of 14.12% increase in the registration of new vehicles in comparison to the last year. So, in either case, the city is clogged. The city also has many vehicles with non-Assam registration, some of which belong to residents who returned back to the city post the lockdown.
All in all, vehicles have increased, roads are the same and our traffic and driving sense still remains horrible.
The problematic traffic sense in the city
Lane driving is quite an alien concept for our city dwellers. Driving in the city will be quite easy if the concept of keeping to one’s lane is understood by drivers. Many a time, one vehicle, in the wrong lane, can clog the traffic for a long time. Similarly, parking sense in the city is also quite off the mark, with people parking at exact U-turns and sometimes even on the driveways. The worst bit, drivers often don’t realize what issues they cause while parking inappropriately.
We have often seen the traffic police issuing challans for not wearing helmets or seatbelts, noncompliance with documents, parking vehicles in prohibited areas and speaking on the phone while driving. Seldom do we see drivers being prosecuted or even stopped for their unawareness of basic traffic etiquette. Spitting on the road by opening the door of a running car, use of high beams in city traffic, not keeping to a lane and sensible parking should remain an agenda of law enforcement and concerned authorities to help smoothen the traffic movement in the city.
In fact, more than prosecution, initiatives should be taken to make people aware of their mistakes and how it impacts a significant chunk of the population who take the city roads for their daily livelihood. The onus also lies on the strata with an advantage in comprehending these issues. Not everyone is expected to be aware of certain traffic decorums, but an initiative of a concerned citizen can work wonders in making things a little easy for all of us on the roads.
Optimising Traffic Management System in the city
Another important question mark is on the newly installed Phase 1 of the Integrated Traffic Management System. While the lights on the GS Road stretch have been functional, certain points in the city still seem to be reeling under major traffic congestion and require regular intervention from the city traffic police personnel.
The Six-Mile stretch sees unbearable traffic, which is also contributed by the ongoing repair work on the existing flyover. And the lights seem to be obsolete in that area. The same goes for the Beltola Tiniali point, where the lights are of no use and traffic often is cruel. A similar situation was also seen under the Ulubari flyover, but Guwahati Traffic Police has done tremendously well to manage and recalibrate the system to ease the flow of traffic. However, certain traffic points need to have their timers re-evaluated and just like Ulubari, a little bit of recalibration is required to make life easy for commuters.
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Emission norms and air quality
The city also needs to check on the emission norms of the vehicles. Increased vehicles on the streets have had quite some impact on the air quality. With AQI in the city hitting hazardous levels in the past few months, it’s imperative that we keep checking before we turn to Delhi. The pollution certificate is not just a document to save us from fines, it has a greater cause too. Many vehicles in the city, mostly commercial, emit black smoke on a regular basis, yet they have a permit to run in the city. With most major cities of the country switching to EVs for public transport, Guwahati is still struggling to catch up with even CNG.
Decongestion of Guwahati roads will need significant work from all parties involved. Yes, the city is going through a major infrastructure overhaul with flyovers being constructed in almost every corner of the city. However, flyovers alone cannot solve the issues. Today, emergency services would find it next to impossible to reach a patient in need, let alone take someone to the hospital. Only those who have the privilege of escort vehicles can only reach a place in Guwahati on time, nearly on time. The onus, therefore, lies upon all of us.
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