Tura’s population is growing but its narrow roads are not getting any bigger and this is causing difficulties to residents and commuters, a Tura activist has said in a petition to the Chief Minister.
Local resident Cherian Momin pointed out that traffic snarls are mainly due to the narrow roads, which have not been widened by the government despite increasing levels of vehicular movement.
“The widening of these roads will promote better communication for the economic development of trade and commerce as Tura remains the focal point of commerce for the whole region in Garo Hills,” Momin said. “At many places in and around Tura town, contractors have not re-laid the full width of roads, leading to uneven surfaces and accidents. It seems that the work was carried out in haste. The half-hearted work is causing resentment among motorists.”
Alleging that corruption, inadequate supervision and overloading of vehicles are the reasons behind the town’s bad roads, Momin said that there should be mobile maintenance teams with specified operational areas to ensure speedy restoration of damaged portions.
He also pointed out that heavy fines were recently imposed by the government for traffic violations but this did not improve road conditions.
