It's time for Imphal city to grow
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 06, 2022 -

It is in records that while Chief Minister N Biren was talking about traffic congestion in Imphal city and occupation of large tracts of busy roads by rows and rows of stationary vehicles, MAHUD Minister Y Khemchand launched a cleanliness drive at Imphal city in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for Smart City.

It seems the new Government intends to do something substantial to clean up the mess in which Imphal city has been languishing for decades.

It is everybody's knowledge that utilisation of roadsides along Kangla Park, PWD office, Babupara, Paona Bazar, MG Avenue etc as parking zones by individuals or agencies under Imphal Municipal Corporation has narrowed down the lanes available for traffic movement.

The situation is no better along the busy road stretch from 1st Manipur Rifles gate to Imphal Post Office due to unregulated parking on either side of the road by staff of various Government offices located at Babupara and frequent obstruction of flow of traffic by Traffic Control Police or Police for movement of VIPs or other Government officials without actually analysing the flow of the traffic.

Interestingly, the new MAHUD Minister was candid enough to admit that there was lack of coordination among IMC, Town Planning Department and PWD in managing Imphal city.

This lack of coordination is clearly reflected in the rampant construction of buildings, malls etc without any parking slot attached to them as done in the malls in metros. Moreover most of the hotels, private hospitals, banks and offices also do not have parking slots.

It is an undeniable fact that all of them utilise public roads as their parking area. Such misuse of public space must be checked strictly without leaving any room for nepotism or favouritism.

Until and unless, the policy planners take up certain radical steps and adopt a qualitative outlook, Imphal City and its core zone will soon become more congested and suffocating.

A policy should be formulated not on the basis of intention but on the basis of findings after systematic, scientific and surgical research and surveys of the issue, problems and facts and materials surrounding them.

A city that does not grow and expand will certainly die. As such, the Government and its policy planners should focus on developing new market areas at the periphery or outside the core zone of Imphal city.

At the same time, the authorities need to check concentration of all the malls, shops and offices within the core zone. The politico-administrative centre including their offices should be shifted away from the core zone to the outskirts of Imphal area.

If the Secretariat, Governor's Residence, Chief Minister's Secretariat, other Government offices, quarters and bungalows are shifted away to suitable places of Imphal area, it would not only reduce traffic congestion but also decentralise development.

Some of the important nationalised banks should be immediately shifted away from the core zone of Imphal city in multiple directions to appropriate places so as to facilitate accessibility of their services to various sections of the public.

There is no reason as to why all the important and large banks should be located in and around Paona Keithel, Thangal Keithel and MG Avenue.

Until and unless, mindset of the ruling babus and planners cannot see beyond the core zone of Imphal city, this city will never be free from congestion.

More congestion and anarchy is the fate of Imphal city in the coming years if those at the helm of affairs do not learn to think pragmatically without further delay.

No city on earth can bear the burden of such a huge conglomeration of all major and important establishments on a limited space of just around two square kilometres.