Management of vehicular traffic in Guwahati city – scope for some environment friendly measures
Pradip Pujari

Guwahati city is not only the largest city in the North East but it has become the hub of all business activities of the entire North East.
All the travelers from other North Eastern states have to travel to other parts of the country through Guwahati.
After the national games and the SAF games Guwahati developed also as a sports hub and because of establishment of a number of good educational institutions it has shined in the field of education. At the same time the establishment of a good number of quality hospitals and Nursing Homes have attracted people from the entire North East to come to Guwahati for undergoing treatment for various ailments.
The city has developed as a tourist destination also and a good number of hotels and resorts have come up during the last 10/15 years which can Cater to the needs of tourists visiting North East.
The above developments on the other hand have contributed towards increasing the number of vehicular traffic plying to Guwahati city. As per conservative estimates in addition to the vehicles registered in kamrup metro another around one lakh vehicles of different type commute to or through the city every day and this has been increasing gradually as the registration of vehicles has been increasing in all the districts and also in the neighbouring states.
As per the statistics there is an increase of 14% in registration of vehicles in Guwahati Metro in 2021 over the previous year. According to DTO’s office sources total vehicles in Guwahati Metro is presently around 12 lakhs(2021). The figure is almost one vehicle per person in a population of approximately 13,.76,000

On road motor vehicles in 2020-21
Motorcycle and scooters 677211
Motorcar 338946
Moped 1573
Agriculture trailer1047
Crane mounted vehicle 881
Other non transport vehicle 334
Goods career 92084
Three wheeler goods 24984
Motor cab 19628
Three wheeler passenger 16833
Bus 11287
Mexicab 3450
Excavator commercial 2134
Dumper 1567
Electric rickshaw 1170
Aambulance 1352
Other transport vehicle 9552
Total 1204 793

Way back in 2008, there was an assessment as regards steps need to be taken for streamlining vehicular traffic in Guwahati city and a number of suggestions was forwarded some of which got implemented during the last 10 years. The suggestions were mainly Centered around the following points
(a) removing of traffic bottlenecks
(b) widening of the existing roads
(c) development of some arterial roads so that traffic can be diverted when needed
(d) construction of flyover at certain points
(e) Automatic traffic signaling system
(f)Streamlining the parking system
(g) streamlineing the operation of city buses etc

.Most of the issues were addressed over the years and traffic in Guwahati city eased considerably in spite of the large increase in vehicular population during the last 15 years .we worked Guwahati traffic police(2008-10) when except in Ulubari, Chandmari and Athgaon there was no flyover in Guwahati city.
During that period there was discussion about construction of a ring road around the city to ease traffic in the heart of the city.
There was also discussion about probable implementation of Bus Rapid Transit System(BRTS) .These projects are actually required for a city like Guwahati if we consider the likely traffic scenario after 25 years. Provision of automatic Traffic Signaling System was then much talked about which got implemented at a later stage that too partly.
Similarly there was also talk about centralised traffic control from two different locations of the city and also about installation of CCTV camera etc. Over the years some of the above discussed measures have been implemented partially and the traffic problem has eased to a great extent particularly after construction of a number of flyovers and widening of the existing roads.
In the emerging scenario of Guwahati traffic taking the following measures would perhaps ease traffic in the city to some extent.
Streamlining plying of city buses
Although the roads inside the city have been widened a lot still the size of the existing City buses do not conform to the present width of the road. Probably City buses of a smaller size(20/25seater) would be more convenient for maneuvering in the existing roads of the city.
Again all the city buses should be controlled centrally( may be from Khanapara and Jalukbari) through the use of GPS and central command centre located in these two places so that the movement of each and every bus, their stoppage/timing etc can be monitored and Kept under surveillance for convenience of the passengers.
The Indore City Bus service model may perhaps be followed and some officers maybe sent for for an on the spot training to Indore to learn about the operation of the buses. Again an assessment can be made as regards adequate number of buses required in a particular route and that number should only be allowed to ply in the route.
A major cause of traffic congestion is the use of large number of private vehicles. If Public transport improves people will start using city buses instead of private car or taxis which will in the long run reduce the number of private vehicles on the road and thereby ease traffic congestion to large extent. Easing of traffic inside the city depends a lot therefore on the efficiency of the services of the city buses. Again instead of allowing
Other modes of public transport like share taxi etc the number of city buses may be increased adequately to carry passengers.

Provision of bicycle renting/hiring/bicycle
Another healthy way of fighting traffic congestion is use of bicycle as an alternative mode of transport. Bicycles can be made available for rent at certain points and provision should be made in such a way so that the user can deposit the bicycle at his nearest operating station after commuting the journey.
These operating stations may be located near bus station, Railway station, Steamer Ghat, tourist spot etc where the bicycles will be available both for rent and also for depositing after use.This will be a great way to reduce pollution and encourage cycle lovers to use the bicycles whenever needed for a nominal price. Smart card system can be used for locking and renting of the bicycle and to prevent theft or misuse by someone.
To make effective use of bicycles provision of cycle track should be made on all the main roads and also on all the bridges including all the new bridges being constructed over . Brahmaputra.
Observation of No traffic Day
An initiative may be taken for observing no traffic day twice in a month(2nd and 4th saturday)by abstaining from using motor vehicle for 24 hours.During this period private vehicle use should be totally prohibited but people can use bicycle and only vehicle used for emergency duties may be allowed.
These two days of the month can also be observed as ‘Green Day’ by taking other green initiatives like planting of trees etc.Public transport with green fuel only may be allowed during this period. This will go a long way to deplete pollution level in the city and at the same time prompt people to adopt a healthy way of life and also reduce consumption of fuel and thereby saving money.

Converting some busy area/street into pedestrian zone
For example, the Stretch of the HB Road from Pan Bazar PS( church point) to Sikh Temple covering SS Road towards the river can be converted fully to a pedestrian zone in the pattern of MG Road of Gangtok. one must have noticed that this stretch of the HB road is mostly used for parking and has a one way traffic which can be bypassed by the road passing by Hari Sabha and Phulgali on the eastern side and by SCRB Road on the western side.
People coming to the zone can park their vehicle near text book production centre office( near panbazar flyover) on the eastern side and the multistoried near MMC( near erstwhile YMCA) On the north.
Parking in front of MMC can be allowed as usual for people coming to the zone from Eastern side. since the new foot over bridge has come up near SS Road Junction on MG Road, the pedestrians can cross over to the Brahmaputra river side via SS Road and vice versa from the pedestrian zone. The existing parking system at the proposed pedestrian zone has to be totally removed.

For the shopkeepers of the zone, to facilitate the transportation of their commodity meant for the shops, a timing may be fixed in the morning and evening hours before opening and after the closing of the area for the Pedestrians.
This is important that the area has to be beautified by landscaping, rebuilding of pavements etc. and the entire area need to be remodelled by putting up fountains, making sitting arrangements, illuminating the area and planting of trees .
Necessary arrangement will have to be made for elderly people , children and PWD also to make it more attractive in the line of MG Road of Gangtok. Since the riverside beautification project is going on , this project may be implemented as an extension of the same as it will connect the riverside. This zone is likely to fulfill the need of a walking zone in the City and would prove very beneficial for the elderly as well as tourists visiting the city.
This needs to be mentioned that it’s only one probable area which can be converted to a pedestrian zone. similar other feasible area may perhaps be identified in the City for developing accordingly.
Images from different sources
Mahabahu.com is an Online Magazine with collection of premium Assamese and English articles and posts with cultural base and modern thinking. You can send your articles to editor@mahabahu.com / editor@mahabahoo.com (For Assamese article, Unicode font is necessary)