GUWAHATI, Oct 26 ? The process for the much-awaited widening of the GNB Road began today with the demolition of structures, mostly shops and business establishments, on either side of the road. Today?s drive covered the stretch from the TC Girls? HS School to the Silpukhuri bus stop. The rest of the clearance work on the GNB Road from the Reserve Bank of India up to Chandmari will be started from tomorrow.
?We have started the road clearance drive from today after giving proper notice to all concerned, and the drive will continue till the entire stretch is cleared,? a district administration official engaged in the drive told The Assam Tribune. He revealed that all the affected business houses as well as other people were cooperating with the administration in its drive. It was seen that in most cases the people themselves had engaged labourers to demolish the structures and boundary walls. ?The cooperation of the people has made our task much easier and we are using only one excavator for demolition purposes,? the official said.
The drive will see the GNB Road getting wider by 2.5 metres on each side. Several hundred structures are being demolished partially to make room for that. In many cases, it was only the boundary walls that were demolished. The State Government has already sanctioned Rs 4 crore for widening of the road as preliminary expenditure in addition to a Rs 2-crore compensation package for the affected people.
Some persons, however, felt that the demolition drive was started a little too soon. ?They should have at least waited till the Lakshmi Puja was over which falls tomorrow,? an aggrieved person said. The affected people were also unhappy with the compensation package fixed by the administration. ?We are being paid at the rate of Rs 4 lakh a katha which is less than the actual government valuation of Rs 5 lakh per katha for the area,? Rishiraj Das of Kamrup Bakery said, adding that they would receive another amount for the construction cost.
Widening of the GNB Road has been a long-felt need for years. The road, which is among the busiest in the city, has been witnessing severe traffic congestion. Most of the people affected by the demolition drive, however, were unanimous in welcoming the widening of the road. ?No doubt we are at the receiving end due to the drive, but if it eases the agonising traffic snarls, we are not complaining,? said Gokulkanta Bhuyan who owns several commercial buildings in the Silpukhuri area.