Shillong Nov 30: The Shillong Bench of the Guwahati High Court had on Thursday issued a stay order to the proposed temporarily shifting of the Jail Road Market by the Shillong Municipal Board from its present location which is adjacent to the SMB campus.
This came after the Jail Road Welfare Committee said it had no other options but to seek the intervention of the law as the government was keeping quite despite several reminders of its objection to the proposal.
By late afternoon this place becomes a busy hub as people from all walks of life throng to purchase their household requirements ranging from groceries to food stuff. But the recent proposal of the state government to shift this market place temporarily to another location has raised strong objections from all quarters.
Not only will the regular customers who would stop by here to grab some vegetables or fish and meat on their way home be inconvenienced, but the location of the proposed shift would also cause a lot of inconvenience to vehicular movement because the road here is narrow and many residents fear that during school hours things would be worse. It is also said that according to the law, no business set-up should be within forty feet of the jail boundary but apparently the government has chosen to ignore this and the jail authorities seemed to be less concerned.
According to the Headman-cum-Chairman of the Jail Road Welfare Committee, objections had been raised to the proposed shifting citing reason that the location where makeshift stalls were erected would cause inconvenience to one and all.
Countering the statements made by Dhar and Bhattacharjee, Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said meetings were held with the headman and members of JRWC, and spot inspections conducted along with the police who opined that there would be no restriction to flow of vehicular traffic. Lyngdoh further asserted that vendors would be more comfortable in the make-shift stalls than where they are presently.(SP News)
