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In Silchar, the largest city in Assam’s Barak Valley, traffic chaos is a defining feature of daily life. Even short distances — such as a six-kilometre commute — can take over an hour, thanks to worsening congestion and the near-total absence of a formal public transport system.
Without city buses or other government-run services, residents depend almost entirely on three-wheelers — petrol-powered autos, e-rickshaws and e-autos — or their own private vehicles. One could fairly say that Silchar moves on three wheels.
Ritwika Paul, an MBBS intern at Silchar Medical College (SMC), hurries out of her home in Premtola each morning to catch an auto-rickshaw for her seven-kilometre commute. “In the early morning, when the roads are still relatively free of the usual chaos, it takes me about 20 minutes to reach the college. But in the afternoon, the same journey can take up to 45 minutes,” she said.
Although technically three-seaters, Silchar’s auto-rickshaws often squeeze in four passengers, making the ride even more uncomfortable. This dominant mode of transport is not particularly cheap either — Ritwika spends up to Rs 2,000 a month on what she describes as a daily ordeal.
Rana Pratap, a second-year medical student at SMC from Ranchi, Jharkhand, moved out of the college hostel in February in search of a more comfortable stay. But commuting from Ambikapatty, 6.5 km away, has made life harder.
“Without traffic, the auto takes around 40 minutes. But in peak hours, it can take over an hour, especially during summer. There’s no standard fare; I spend over Rs 1,500 a month for this uncomfortable commute. Sometimes I get down at Rangirkhari and walk from there just to avoid the congestion,” he told this reporter.
The traffic jams can have serious consequences. Arka Saha, a local medical professional, recalled a disturbing incident. “Ambulances often get stuck in traffic with no way to manoeuvre. Once, a woman gave birth in a vehicle while being rushed to the medical college.”
Silchar evolved from a modest village under the Kachari kings into a township in 1832, following its annexation by the British. Yet, the city’s road network has not kept pace with modern urban needs.
The city centre is served by just two major arterial roads, supplemented by narrow connecting lanes. Rising vehicle numbers and inadequate parking have turned these into bottlenecks. Poor enforcement compounds the problem.
A recent addition — the Silchar Bypass, completed around two to three years ago — offers a partial remedy. Connecting Ghungoor (home to SMC) with the railway station at Tarapur, it runs through Meherpur, Birbal Bazaar, Ambikapatty, Rangirkhari, Premtola, Devdoot Point and Capital Point. While the route is slightly longer, it helps commuters avoid the worst-congested central areas.
Another main road begins at Sadarghat Point near the Barak River and winds through Itakhola and into the city. The Sadarghat Bridge has improved access to previously isolated areas like Dudpatil, which once relied on boats for connectivity.
A major source of congestion is the clustering of Silchar’s key institutions — government offices, courts, colleges, shopping centres — within a three to four-kilometre radius around Capital Point. This forces thousands to converge in a compact area every day.
Though institutions like SMC, National Institute Of Technology Silchar and Assam University are located on the outskirts, the limited and narrow access roads still make commuting to them a painful experience.
Raktim Das, another MBBS intern who recently moved out of the SMC hostel, echoed similar frustrations. “The traffic affects my bike’s mileage significantly, which only adds to air pollution. Riding for over an hour every day through such congestion is exhausting,” he said.
Silchar’s streets are ruled by an informal transport system. Public buses are a thing of the past and auto-rickshaws now dominate. The resulting surge in private two-wheelers has overwhelmed the fragile road network.
According to the District Transport Officer (DTO) Ramesh Shyam, three-wheelers do not require permits to operate within the city — a regulatory loophole that has fuelled their unchecked growth.
From April 2024 to March 2025, 19,823 two-wheelers were registered in Cachar district, followed by 4,890 three-wheelers and 2,312 light motor vehicles, the officer told this reporter. While this data covers the entire district, specific figures for Silchar are unavailable.
Bikash Bhattacharyya, president of the All Cachar Commercial E-Auto Association, estimates that around 8,000 e-rickshaws operate in Silchar on weekdays, alongside nearly 1,000 petrol autos. “Together, over 10,000 three-wheelers serve more than 100,000 commuters every working day,” he says.
Bhattacharyya blamed political patronage for the unregulated growth of three wheelers. “Subsidies are available, but there’s no control. Now even autos from surrounding towns like Sonai, Dhalai and Kathigorah are entering Silchar. There must be restrictions.”
His union has submitted memoranda to the district commissioner, but no action has followed. “Colour coding could help — some should operate only within the city, others outside it,” he suggested.
The lack of employment opportunities also fuels this informal economy. “Political leaders encourage unemployed youth to operate autos as a livelihood,” said Saha. “It’s a stopgap, not a sustainable solution.”
Shantanu, Silchar’s traffic in-charge, acknowledged the problem. The police are planning to install traffic lights across the city. “We have 11 designated parking areas, but people park anywhere, especially near shopping centres and private hospitals. Many of these hospitals don’t have dedicated parking, making places like Meherpur especially challenging,” he said.
While major accidents are rare in the city centre, they are more common on the highways and bypasses. Down To Earth attempted to access accident data for Silchar but was unsuccessful.
To address these issues, the Silchar Development Authority (SDA) is drafting a master plan. “We are planning a ring road that will connect key points around the city. For example, someone travelling from Premtola to SMC would be able to bypass the central congestion,” said SDA Chairman Monjul Deb. A detailed map is in development.
Silchar is a “non-attainment” city under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for consistently exceeding safe fine particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 levels over the past five years.
An emission inventory study by Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, led by professor Sharad Gokhale, found that vehicular emissions account for 22 per cent of PM10 and 28 per cent of PM2.5 in the city. Biomass burning adds another 14 per cent and 9 per cent respectively, while industrial sources contribute 12 per cent and 16 per cent.
However, the largest culprits are dust from roads and construction sites, contributing 35 per cent to PM10 and 32 per cent to PM2.5, Gokhale told DTE. Two-wheelers, surprisingly, are the biggest single polluters. “They account for 52 per cent of vehicular emissions. Large trucks contribute 29 per cent, light diesel vehicles 11 per cent and city buses only 2 per cent,” he said.
The professor also noted poor civic hygiene as a factor. “Drain debris is often left on the roadside. When it dries, it becomes airborne and adds to the pollution. Trucks on the road to Mizoram also raise a lot of dust due to poor road conditions,” Gokhale added.
This article is part of our series on how India moves, which looks at the relationship between air quality and human mobility in cities and towns.