Traffic snarls expose lack of planning
Abrar A. Mattoo
SRINAGAR, Sep 21: The Jehangir-Chowk-Rambagh flyover was completed in June 2019, with an aim to ease the commute from the outskirts of Srinagar to the city center, but at Rambagh, a traffic bottleneck is choking the traffic to the city, especially during the rush hours.
The huge traffic snarls at the tail ends of flyover particularly during the peak time at Rambagh and Jehangir Chowk have exposed the planning of the authorities who seem to be mute spectators to this conundrum.
While the road leading to Sheikh-ul-Alam international airport is a wide four-lane road, the road adjacent to it has suffered from oversight. The residents of the area alleging official disinterest say that the authorities are showing an apathetic attitude to the problem that is irking the population of more than three districts especially the residents of the city outskirts.
“The issue of widening the road from the mouth of the flyover at Rambagh-Bala to the Graveyard at Natipora has been our long-pending demand. These are only nearly thirty structures that need to be cleared to allow a smooth flow of traffic in-and-out of the city at this juncture, but the government has shown an immense attitude of apathy in this matter. The government is blind to the fact that this road connects three districts with the City and it becomes imperative to resolve this issue. What sort of smart city are we building if we don’t have even basic amenities like wide roads,” Dr. Khaliq Hassan Munshi, a daily commuter on the road said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
The residents of the nearby areas also allege bias behind the official apathy. They say that they are not important enough for the government to matter.
“There are no V.I.P colonies on this side of the city. If the same problem would have concerned the residents of, say, Hyderpora or Humhama, or Peerbagh for that matter, the government would have taken immediate steps,” Kashif Ashraf, a student added while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
According to the locals, due to the immense traffic jams caused by the bottleneck, the emergency services are often greatly interrupted.
“Across this small stretch of road, We often see ambulances, fire service trucks, and other essential service vehicles struggling through the jam-packed cars. The route is the shortest way for the population of nearly three districts to reach all the major hospitals in the city and often, emergency health care is delayed due to traffic jams. Every day, I see about ten-to-fifteen ambulances ferrying critically ill patients to the hospitals like Barzulla, SMHS, and Soura. But the traffic wastes their precious time,” Mohammad Ramzan, a grocery shop owner at Rambagh Balla said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
Due to the traffic bottleneck, the bus services to all the adjoining area is not available, and the result is that the cheap and comparatively less polluting alternative is not available to the residents.
“The students, in particular, would have greatly benefited had there been any buses plying on the road, but due to the Rambagh traffic bottleneck, not a single bus runs on the road,” Qasim Mohammad, a student and the resident of the area said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
The residents also say that If it’s too much trouble for the government to rehabilitate the owners of the structures that hamper the government from widening the said road stretch, then an alternative road can be built on the backside, across the banks of the Doodh-Ganga Canal.
“We understand that the government may be encountering resistance from the owners of the structures and the people concerned with the Mosque that falls in the demolition area, but an additional and an alternative road can be built in the backside of the area, I.e. across the banks of the Doodh Ganga Canal directly from Natipora crossing to all the way to Rambagh,” Mohammad Ashraf, another daily commuter on the road said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
However, when Kashmir Despatch reached the district administration, the officials feigned ignorance about any government plan to solve the issue concerning the widening of the road.
“As of now, I am not aware of any plan to expand or widen the road stretch from Natipora Crossing to Rambagh. Since these sorts of plans involve lots of factors, especially the cash, decisions in this regard should come from the government on a high level. Currently, we can only pray that the people don’t suffer due to a narrow road,” Mohammad Yaseen, Chief Planning officer said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
