Work to repair and extend the life of the Umiam Dam bridge has been ongoing since the end of last year, with commuters having to bear the brunt of delays as the road is only opened on one lane.
Periodically, the authorities at the bridge will open the lane to traffic either coming down from Shillong or going up to the state capital. The intervals do not seem to follow a pattern. Sometimes the road is open for 10 minutes at a stretch for the up and down traffic. But just last week, one commuter reported having to wait for an hour and a half on the journey up to Shillong, frustrated out of her mind seeing cars coming down from Shillong but not being allowed to go up. The absence of lavatory facilities made the wait even more excruciating.
Today another commuter reported a long wait going down from Shillong. On what was a warm day, the driver was caught between a rock and a hard place as a forest fire was filling the air with acrid smoke. However, winding up the windows to keep the smoke out meant that he would breathe stifling warm air (his vehicle was not equipped with air conditioning) on what was a very warm day.
A constant bugbear to many who patiently wait in line are the queue jumpers – people who might have a genuine inability to wait behind the others or those with simply no morals. Although the authorities have warned against queue jumping, there is practically no one to enforce the rule.
While commuters face these problems, hawkers have spotted an opportunity to make a few extra rupees. With a captive market, hardworking street vendors are selling snacks and other items to the waiting commuters. Channa wallas do a brisk business walking up and down the long line of vehicles ringing their familiar bell.
Sellers of strawberries on the side of the highway have also seen an uptick in business.
Speaking to some of the channa sellers, it was learnt that they came from Laitlyngkot drawn by the opportunity to do a good trade – they said they can easily make a profit of Rs 600 to Rs 700 per day along the stretch. With the bridge work set to continue until the end of June, they have a window of a few more weeks to make hay while the roadworks continue.
