Guwahati doesn’t need another flyover until it can guarantee that its citizens can walk, drive, and live without fearing what lies beneath their feet.
Guwahati, the gateway to the North East, is fast turning into a maze of under-construction flyovers, expanding highways, and glassy malls.
On the surface, it appears the city is racing towards a modern makeover. But take a short drive through its arteries—GS Road, Zoo Road, or even the once-bustling bylanes—and the picture becomes painfully clear: potholes large enough to swallow tyres, puddles masking craters, and uneven roads that turn every ride into a gamble.
While trees are being chopped down to make way for mega infrastructure projects, a disturbing silence hangs heavy in the air—the silent protests and slogans to save the environment often go in vain because they say it is for ‘development’. But development at what cost?
We are being sold the promise of a "better" city with six-lane highways and sky-high bridges, but what about the foundations that are cracking beneath us?
What about the roads that have existed for decades but are now in such disrepair that they pose a real threat to lives, especially during the monsoon?
Every day, the common citizens—rickshaw pullers, office-goers, students, emergency responders—navigate this mess, paying the price for poor planning and patchwork governance.
Meanwhile, road tax, fuel cess, and municipal levies are dutifully collected. But where is the accountability? Where is the transparency in how our tax money is being spent?
The irony is cruel: the city is being built while its very groundwork is falling apart. Is the purpose of development only to chase a cosmetic idea of progress, or should it be inclusive, sustainable, and rooted in long-term vision?
What we urgently need is not just new bridges or malls—but a government that listens, prioritises maintenance, and values the safety of its people just as much as it values ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
Guwahati doesn’t need another flyover until it can guarantee that its citizens can walk, drive, and live without fearing what lies beneath their feet.
Kabir Chakraborty, who has completed his post-graduation in mass communication and journalism, is a Guwahati-based journalist and has worked in several media outlets in various capacities. Apart from reporting on burning issues, Kabir is also a passionate poet and a photographer who is also into filmmaking.
