Dr. Tathagata Roy (right) being sworn in as the new Governor of Meghalaya on August 25.
Newmai News Network
Shillong | August 25
Dr. Tathagata Roy, who was sworn in as the new Governor of Meghalaya on Saturday, has expressed sheer joy with his new posting while terming it as a homecoming of sorts.
“When I received this order to move from Tripura to Meghalaya I was a little sad because I had set my mind on staying in Tripura for three years but then I was also very happy because coming to Meghalaya coming to Shillong is like homecoming,” the new Governor said here on Saturday.
Providing a little detail on why he considers this a homecoming, the Governor said he had spent his early childhood in Shillong. “This city I know it like the back of my hand all the way from Garikhana to Happy Valley.”
Stating that Shillong has changed a lot over the years, the Governor said, “When we were children there were no traffic jams and the buildings were all Assam-type buildings and none of these monstrosities that have grown up now.”
The newly sworn in Governor said he would like to address this matter of architecture of Shillong.
Asked how he would address the problem, Dr Roy said that the topography of Shillong is such that the existing roads cannot be widened much. He also said that this topography also limits the possibility of flyovers.
“What can be done under the circumstances is as far as I can see emphasis on public transport rather than private transport,” he asserted while pointing out that he have been associated personally with the problem of traffic and had worked with the Kolkata Metro project for close to 18 years.
“If good public transport is arranged then the road occupancy will be much lesser and private transport must be discouraged. How this can be done is for the elected government to decide but these are generally some ideas that I have toyed with at different points of time whenever I have noticed the traffic problem in Shillong,” Dr Roy added.
Meanwhile, the Governor said that in spite of everything Shillong is Shillong and he loves it. “I have a close attachment with this place and I am very happy to come here,” he stated.
Earlier in the day, Dr. Roy was administered his oath of office and secrecy by the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, Mohammad Yaqoob Mir at Raj Bhavan, Shillong.
