Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar Jan 19: Even after the passage of a week when the snowfall draped Valley, there are still several areas in various districts of Kashmir region where the snow is yet to be cleared from the streets and the link roads.
These areas fall in the districts such as Handwara, Baramulla, Budgam, Shopian and Kulgam where the snow has not been cleared from the footpaths and the streets that are leading to several inner areas; same is true for several areas in Srinagar, where the accumulated snow is yet to be cleared.
In Handwara, the residents are up against the administration for its callous approach in clearing the snow from various link roads and villages in the district, putting the local population to much inconvenience.
The residents told Excelsior that they have been suffering due to the accumulated snow in the areas, with subzero temperatures making it difficult for them to venture out of their homes early in the morning.
The residents of all these areas have criticized the administration for not coming up to their expectation.
What is interesting here is that, while the administration in Handwara has cleared the snow from the main road, it has collected it all in the main market, resulting in water logging putting the shopkeepers to much inconvenience.
Ghulam Rasool, general secretary Traders Federation, Handwara told Excelsior that the administration was not taking the issue of clearing the snow seriously. “What is our fault; if a week has passed, why has not been the snow cleared yet,” he asked.
There are scores of roads that are the lone links to the main market where the snow has not been cleared even after the passage of a week.
The Kandi villages, where the snow has not been cleared include upper reaches of Rajwar, Hafruda, Tarat Pora, Shahlal, Lacham, Monbal, Natusa Kandi and Waderbala.
In Srinagar, there are several areas in old city Srinagar, where the snow has not been cleared from the streets leading to scores of inner areas in the district. It includes inner streets of Iddgah, Safa Kadal and Zoonimar. There are also footpaths in these areas from where the snow has not been cleared as yet.
Further, there also are areas in the city outskirts such is HMT, Muftafa Abad, Zainakote and Shalteng where the administration has not even bothered to clear the snow altogether, forcing locals to take up the task.
Several areas of Budgam district are yet to be connected as administration has failed to clear the snow. These are mostly the areas in the hilly areas of the district. The residents said that administration has this time failed to clear snow affecting the normal life.
In Shopian and Kulgam, the snow continues to remain untouched on the footpaths and streets. The residents of these areas also said that the condition becomes worse early in the morning, when even walking on these footpaths becomes difficult.
There are also footpaths in the main town of Shopian and Kulgam where the snow has not been cleared by the administration. It is pertinent to mention here that Shopian received at least 3 feet of snow during the recent bout of snowfall in the Valley.
“They have cleared snow from all the main roads, but they seem to have forgotten the inner streets as well as the footpaths-which is used by the pedestrians for roaming around the main tows; it gets difficult for people to tread on these early in the morning; plus, it is also affecting the businesses of the shopkeepers in the twin towns of Kulgam and Shopian,” a resident of district Shopian said.
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