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| No public transport for administrative epicenter of capital city | | Encroachers stall public transport for Jammu DC office | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, August 4, 2009: Due to incremental improvement in the road network in the city, commuting from one area to another has become somewhat easier. This has happened mainly because of now being three bridges on the river Tawi which almost bifurcates the city.
Public transport in the form of matador service was available to most parts of the old city till almost 15 years ago. The matador service used to pass through Shalamar Road, City Chowk, Rajinder Bazaar, Shahidi Chowk, Residency Road and then moved towards Vivekanand Chowk.
The residents of the most parts of the old city, particularly areas like Gujjar Nagar, Pir Mitha, Jain Bazaar, Peer Kho and Dalpatian Mohalla had to walk less than half a kilometer to avail of this service.
This service used to serve the people coming from near and far to the Deputy Commissioner’s office situated on Wazarat Road. Those wanting to reach the DC office for work took the matador up to Shahidi Chowk and then walked for 10-15 minutes to reach their destination.
Nowadays, if anyone has to reach the DC office, there is no way one can use public transport. The nearest point from DC office up to which one can reach in public transport is the Vivekanand Chowk. It is not an easy task to walk from this chowk to the DC office because it will take up more than 30 minutes of walk.
Given this, it can be said that the DC office of the Jammu district is located at a place where effectively public transport is ineffective. If one has to reach the DC office, one has no choice but to hire auto-rickshaws or use personal transport.
Since auto-rickshaws do not use meters, the public is fleeced by the auto drivers. One has to grin and bear the antics of these drivers if one has to visit the DC office.
Apart from people travelling from far and wide to the DC office, the lack of public transport has affected the people of the Old city the hardest. The residents of areas like Gujjar Nagar, Pir Mitha, Mast Garh, Talab Khatikan, Shaheedi Chowk, Julakha Mohalla and Jain Bazaar etc do not have access to public transport.
There is no way the students of these areas can commute to their respective schools on their own by using public transport. The elders of these areas, whether government employees or in the private sector, have to use personal transport to reach their offices or workplaces. Whether it is the use of personal transport or auto-rickshaws, the residents have to pay a heavy price in the absence of public transport, Raman Sharma of Lower Mast Garh said.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister, Mr Omar Abdullah, often uses the Circular Road from Wazarat Road to reach his personal house in Bhatindi. Earlier, his predecessor, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, also used this road to travel to his Bhatindi residence.
Passing through this area, and onwards to Sher-i-Kashmir bridge, they would have noticed that the area of the Gujjar area is a major bottleneck in smooth flow of traffic. The Gujjar Nagar bridge is perhaps the only bridge which is broader than the road connecting or reaching up to it. This is particularly true of the approach road from the Gujjar Nagar side.
Usually, roads are wider than the bridges they connect to, worldwide. Except of course in Gujjar Nagar where encroachers rule the roost and the approach road to the bridge is narrower than the bridge.
The residents of the Old City areas have approached the authorities many times over the last few years for starting public transport service via Circular Road. These pleas have been ignored because the district administration is not willing to evict the encroachers of the Gujjar Nagar.
Several years ago, when Pawan Kotwal was the DC, there was a move to evict the encroachers most of whom have also been paid compensation. However, the move was shelved later due to political interference. Mr Kotwal is now the Divisional Commissioner but things have not changed in Gujjar Nagar.
Later, some ground work was done to widen the road by demolishing the encroachments in Gujjar Nagar during the tenures of his successors also. Every time, one political leader or the other stalled the proceedings, according to some officials of the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC).
The officials pointed out that the residents of the Old City are the biggest losers. Due to the intransigence of barely 30 to 40 people, who have encroached on the road, thousands of residents of these areas have been deprived of public transport.
Transport department officials said they were willing to consider giving route permits for the Circular Road provided encroachments in Gujjar Nagar were removed. Otherwise, the possibility of accidents will remain very high, they pointed out.
Direct matador services via Circular Road will be a boon for the residents but the encroachers have been stalling the moves, the officials admitted.
If school buses bringing children from all over the city to Delhi Public School at Jogi Gate can ply through the Gujjar Nagar, surely matador services can also be run in these parts, the officials opined, adding what is required is the necessary political will.
Some enlightened citizens of these areas have been lobbying with the officials in the Regional Transport Office (RTO) office for starting public transport services in the area. Their pleas have fallen on deaf ears so far.
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