Assam: Chaotic parking near deputy commissioner office leads to traffic jam

GUWAHATI: Haphazard parking despite prohibitory signs in the vicinity of the Kamrup (Metro) deputy commissioner's office premises in the Hengerabari area leads to traffic congestion, especially during the rush hours, after the DC office was temporarily shifted to the location.
The old DC office building at Panbazar has been demolished for the ongoing Brahmaputra riverfront beautification project. A highly placed district administration official said there is lack of space for parking or to convert into a parking area.
So, people park their vehicles haphazardly even though the traffic police department has put up 'no-parking' signboards along the roadside outside the office premises. The matter is under consideration of the district administration, the official added.
Padum Deka, an auto-rickshaw driver of the locality, said: "Traffic congestion in the area is a very recent development. Earlier, it took five to six minutes to reach Ganeshguri from the DC office's location. Now, it takes about 15-20 minutes. Ensuring sufficient parking before shifting the DC office was crucial as thousands of people visit it every day."
He added that sufficient number of traffic police personnel are not deployed to control the traffic. "One or two home guard personnel can be seen deployed, but people do not listen to them," he added.
The DC office will be shifted permanently to the integrated office building, which is being constructed at Rupnagar. The integrated building will also have several other offices, including Guwahati Municipal Corporation, Kamrup (Metro) district chief judicial magistrate court and irrigation department.
Apart from the old DC office at Panbazar, the old office buildings of the GMC, police commissioner, SP bungalow and State Bank of India's Panbazar branch have also been temporarily shifted to different locations and the old constructions have been pulled down for the riverfront beautification project.