With traffic congestion continuing to choke the narrow arterial roads of Shillong despite the creation of designated parking infrastructure, the Meghalaya government has intensified daily monitoring of the situation, acknowledging that roadside parking remains a key contributor to gridlocks, particularly during peak school and office hours in the state capital.
Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Urban Affairs, Snaiwbhalang Dhar, on Monday said the government is closely tracking the issue on a day-to-day basis even as enforcement agencies attempt to regulate vehicular movement across the city’s constrained road network.
“Road side parking problem is still not yet solve,” he said.
“We are now monitoring it day by day every day basis, the process is on and slowly every thing will fall into place. Places are narrow and it is not easy police are on the job,” he added.
The renewed focus on monitoring comes even as the government has put in place parking facilities and arrangements to ease pressure on the roads. However, indiscriminate roadside parking continues to undermine these efforts, often triggering congestion in key stretches of the city.
In a parallel measure aimed at streamlining parking management, the East Khasi Hills district administration has notified revised parking fees for light motor vehicles at the multilevel car park near the Additional Secretariat.
As per the Deputy Commissioner’s order, light motor vehicles will be charged Rs 20 for the first hour, Rs 10 for each subsequent hour, with a daily maximum cap of Rs 150. Overnight parking has been fixed at Rs 100, with the system to be managed through electronic ticketing.
The order, issued under a directive of the Urban Affairs Department, came into effect from March 13, signalling a push towards regulated and structured parking as part of broader efforts to ease Shillong’s chronic traffic congestion.
