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| Flawed traffic diversion plan leads to chaos in Srinagar | | ET report vindicated | | Hyder Ali
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Apr 27: Traffic across the summer capital of Srinagar came to a grinding halt on Wednesday when authorities closed the arterial Jahangir Chowk-Ram Bagh (JCRB) route for traffic vindicating the Early Times reports that the diversion plan was "half baked and politically motivated."
The diversion plan, devised on the instructions of Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon in the wake of ongoing construction of the JCRB flyover, proved a disaster on the very first day of implementation as gridlocks stretched for kilometers and people remained stranded for hours with chaos across all major roads.
The authorities have closed the JCRB route without providing a "decent alternative".
Even though a diversion for traffic to south Srinagar was possible through Batamaloo, the administration remained hesitant to relocate the bus stand en route due to "political pressures." The bus stand was scheduled to be relocated to Parimpora, where Srinagar Development Authority (SDA) has already constructed a state-of- the-art bus stand.
But some politicians for their vote bank interests last year got the Parimpora bus stand converted into a slum for "political workers." The slum was developed on funding through NGOs while the SDA officials who facilitated the shady deal where subsequently rewarded with "illegal promotions and better postings." Though the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh was informed about the "scam", he has been silent presumably to keep a "PDP leader in good humor."
Given the "political interference", the administration went for the traffic diversion without proper groundwork.
"This proved disastrous as traffic jams remained worst," admitted a senior official asking not to be named.
By afternoon, as thousands of people got stranded, the Kashmir Inc issued a formal statement seeking Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's personal intervention.
Kashmir Economic Alliance, Chairman, Mohammed Yasin Khan, who also heads the Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation took a dig at the authorities.
In a handout Khan said the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and the Traffic Police have taken entire Srinagar for a ride through the "insane diversion plan, which only furthered the woes of commuters."
He said construction of the JCRB flyover should not be excuse to put people to trouble. "Construction of flyover doesn't mean that people have to spend day stranded on roads; the ailing cannot reach hospital in time and others including schoolchildren stay helpless, while marketplaces suffer the most," Khan said in the handout.
Terming the diversion plan as "irrational and despotic", Khan said even commonsense has been sidelined in the name of traffic management.
He said the illogical diversion plan, which failed on day one has exposed that traffic won't ply in the coming days when durbar move offices reopen in the summer capital and business activities also pick up.
Official documents reveal that last year the Traffic Police had asked the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir to shift the Batamaloo bus stand to Parimpora.
But the official didn't act in time.
Meanwhile social media remained flooded with criticism over the traffic diversion plan with netizens seeking intervention of the High Court Bar Association. "The administration is answerable for taking the people hostage," said a senior lawyer adding he would move Court.
Though SSP Traffic Maqsood Un Zaman has prepared the diversion plan, presence of roadside encroachments, bad road conditions and shortage of cops to man the traffic has furthered the problem.
Early Times in a serious of news reports had pointed out drawbacks in the traffic plan while Batamaloo bus stand issue was also highlighted. |
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