Flag station conversion into commercial complex opposed

Special Correspondent

Silchar: One of the serious problems of this town is the acute shortage of parking space which continues to harangue the minds of the citizens with two or four wheelers. 10 malls which have come up in this town, of course, have their own parking bays, meant exclusively for the customers. Municipal board owned and managed Goldighi Mall has also a parking place, but it is too small to serve the purpose. Considered against the backdrop of the ever-growing fleet of motorcycles and four-wheelers as well as the burgeoning population of this town and the traffic snarls and bottlenecks on the narrow roads, it was decided by the ASTC authority to construct a spacious parking slot at its flag station.

The proposal was mooted in 2015 to the effect that the vacant plot of state transport flag station would be utilized as parking area. With that end in view, the construction of a multi layer car parking cum office building was taken up by the district administration to the State government in the month of November 2018. The proposal was to be under City Infra Development Fund (CIDF) scheme. But, the record shows that Ajit Singh, the then minister of transport, had laid the foundation stone of a multi level car parking cum office building at the vacant plot of state transport flag station. The shift in the decision to convert the space into a commercial complex has taken the denizens by surprise. As Pulak Goswami, a conscious and concerned citizen, said should everything be considered in commercial manner?

The much pressed town is feeling the heat of ever expanding commercial complexes. The worst hit are the peaceful citizens who are worried at the increasing level of sound and air pollution with its disastrous consequences on health and hygiene of individuals. Patients with respiratory, lung, hearing problems and other related ailments flock the medical treatment centres. Taking a serious view of the development, Nagarik Swartharaksha Sangram Parishad (NSSP) in a petition to the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar strongly opposed the commercial complex and demanded the construction of multi-level car parking with utmost priority in order to save the town and its citizens from the growing pollution and for maintaining eco-balance.

Also read: Cachar News