Srinagar, Mar 12: In the wake of the Pulwama attack last month, the government forces halt all civilian traffic movement, including ambulances and school buses, on the highway to let the convoys of armed forced pass unhindered.
The move is frustrating the daily commuters on the highway and other roads, who say, the forces stop every vehicle including school buses and ambulances without any concern for the patients’ lives or the young kids.
In the wake of February 14 attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama killing 49 personnel, the government of India decided to tweak the standard operating procedures (SOPs) framed to secure its convoys.
As per the new safeguards, the civil traffic is stopped for ‘short’ intervals during the movement of convoys. In addition to this, more barricading is done to ensure vehicles don’t get close to the convoys.
However, the curbs aimed to segregate the civil traffic and military movement is distressing thousands of commuters.
In the last few days, several videos showing government forces stopping civilian vehicles have surfaced on social media.
In one of the videos, a bunch of CRPF troopers and several government employees were seen engaged in a tussle after the former stopped them.
One CRPF man tried to snatch the phone of a man capturing the video while the other man pleaded him to let them go as they were already late to their workplaces.
Another female protester in video can be seen shouting: “Why should I back off? Why wouldn’t you let us go? There are patients in the ambulances and people waiting to report to their offices. This is not acceptable. Please let us go.”
Salim beigh, who studies in a different state, was returning home after six months. He had left airport around 9 in the morning and reached his home in Anantnag at half past 1 in the afternoon.
“My mother and sisters had been eagerly waiting for this day. But their excitement was marred by my late arrival. The inordinate delay was caused by the convoy movement,” he said.
“We were halted near Pampore for nearly three hours. Around 200-300 vehicles were stuck there and that too for a convoy comprising of just 5-6 security vehicles. Those who tried to intervene got abuses and rebuffs as a response from the forces.”
Umar, a resident of Pattan Baramulla complained that it took him two hours to reach home which normally would take just 35minutes.
“We had to make halt on highway twice as a convoy was passing through. One halt was at Narbal and then another one at Pattan. Both were for nearly 25 minutes each,” he said.
On Tuesday, Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir too expressed its concern over halting of school buses during plying of convoys and said the practice has created a chaotic situation in educational institutes.
The Association, in a handout, said that the schools have been opened only for two days but the situation has become so chaotic that nobody is able to understand what to do.
“Our entire transport plan and plying of school buses has been disrupted. The schools particularly on National Highway and even those schools where buses have to simply cross a road have seen their time tables going down the drain,” said G N Var chairman of the amalgam.
“Our classes are starting late and sometimes even we do not know when will children or staff reach home,” he said.
The Association said that Kashmir already has limited working days and now the waste of time is compounding the problems.
“At times our buses have to wait for anywhere from half an hour to even more than one hour. Add to it the associated traffic jams and our buses arrive hours late after the prescribed school opening time,” said Var.
“Some of our buses have small children, who have to unnecessarily wait and suffer on roads. Our morning prayers, classes and examinations are being disrupted,” he added.
The Association said that government should exempt school buses and ambulances from the restrictive orders.
“World over there is a norm that school buses and ambulances are given preference over any other traffic. In western countries even Prime Minister and President of that nation makes way for school buses and ambulances,” said Var.
“School buses and ambulances should be exempted from such an order. There is no harm if these vehicles ply alongside the convoy,” he said.
“Since 90s we have seen almost every leader of government employees starting his career in the name of employee welfare, supporting peoples cause. As soon as they get an opportunity, they take no time in switching over their loyalty.”
