Sajid Raina
Bandipora: The commuters in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district’s main town are facing hard time due to frequent traffic jams at peak hours here.
A group of commuters told that authorities have failed to regulate traffic in the main town Bandipora particularly at Gulshan Chowk and Kuloosa Chowk.
They said in absence of proper traffic regulation, vehicular movement frequently comes to standstill at the vital intersection on the Kuloosa-Nowpora road.
The locals complained that the lack of parking lots in the market increases their problems. The local residents mostly keep the vehicles parked on the roads, leading to chaos and frequent traffic jams while the authorities are watching it as mute spectacular.
Locals said encroachers are randomly occupying the footpaths, leaving no space for the movement of pedestrians and the vehicles even on the main streets of the town, thereby results in massive traffic jam.
Samreena Mir, a local resident said that she was stuck with a medical emergency in traffic jam at Kuloosa for around 20-25 minutes when such walking distance could easily be covered in five minutes. Unfortunately, no traffic official was present there.
The failure of the authorities to ensure smooth flow of traffic has evoked strong resentment from the commuters. “Frequent unending traffic jams have drastically affected our lives and business. The worst affected are the government employees and students who reach late to the offices and schools,” she said.
Furthermore, the major roads in the town remain chocked due to the heavy movement of vehicles after increase in the number of private vehicles.
Meanwhile, the locals also sought the intervention of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bandipora Owais Ahmad for immediate removal of encroachers from the footpaths.
An official from BMC Bandipora, however, admitted lack of adequate parking lots in the town. “We have no proper parking space in the town that’s why the town witnesses traffic jam,” he said.
“We are looking for an adequate parking space in the town, which will eradicate the illegal parking and hence will control the massive traffic jam,” he said—(KNO)
