Pedestrians, shopkeepers suffer
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Jan 28: Even after a passage of more than 25 days now, the authorities have failed to clear the snow from the footpaths as well as roadsides in city centre Lal Chowk causing immense troubles to the shopkeepers and the pedestrians.
The people thronging Lal Chowk and adjacent area on daily basis said that they have to undergo hardships due to the accumulated snow which has not been cleared by the authorities.
The snow has been cleared from main roads and dumped on roadsides and footpaths causing troubles to the shopkeepers as well as the pedestrians. It also hampers the smooth passage of the traffic in the area.
As per the pedestrians, it becomes difficult to walk on the footpaths as there are several spots where the footpaths are still covered with snow. They said that the authorities have been callous this winter and are pushing people into difficulties.
“People are facing issues in walking. We are facing issues since January 1 while as the SMC and R&B have failed; the snow that’s accumulated on the roadsides causes traffic jams and even the ambulances are facing troubles in commuting; it is evident that this year, the administration has failed,” Javaid Bhat who owns a shop in Lal Chowk told Excelsior.
He ridiculed the official claims of Smart City stating that if the situation is so bad in the city centre what would be the situation in the rural areas of Kashmir.
“They are talking about smart city. Is this smart city? This is the situation in the city centre who knows what will be the situation in the rural areas,” he said.
The locals believed that the snowfall has caught administration napping which has not even bothered to clear the roads and pathways in Lal Chowk even after a fortnight.
“The concerned departments have not bothered to clear the roads and pathways. There is traffic plying on the roads and the footpaths that are meant for the pedestrians are covered with the snow, the administration has utterly failed,” a pedestrian, Hilal Ahmad said.
He alleged that the concerned departments will draw a bill for the road clearances in coming days, “but in reality, they have done nothing. In other parts of the city, people themselves cleared the roads and not the administration; this is the heart of the city and they have left it to dogs. We appeal the administration to act,” he said.
The locals also said that the administration has been claiming that they are ready to deal with the aftermath of the snowfall. However, after the snowfall, they said, their claims fell flat on the ground.
“People are asking where there is administration in Srinagar. This year, the administration failed clearly. The main city has been left unattended. The administration used to say that they are alert and are ready to deal with the situation, but then they failed,” another pedestrian Bilal Ahmad said.
People also alleged that the administration, particularly the SMC is only active on Twitter where they are telling people what they have done.
“25 days have passed now, the administration is active only on Twitter and nothing is being done on the ground. There have been many incidents where people skidded and were injured; they must be pulled up for inaction,” said Wasim Ahmad.
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