Eid shopping brings traffic mess back in Srinagar

Srinagar, Jun 14: After months-long respite from gridlock in Srinagar, the summer capital of the state is once again witnessing traffic mess ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr being celebrated after ten days.
As the shoppers started shopping for the Eid-ul-Fitr, the Srinagar areas especially, Lal Chowk, Jahangir Chowk, Old City areas and others are witnessing a traffic mess from past few days.
The pedestrians as well as the commuters find it difficult to reach their destinations on time, saying that the authorities must take some measures ahead of Eid so that the people won’t be caught in traffic jams for hours.
Locals said that a large number of vehicles can be seen stranded on the roads especially at Jahangir chowk, making an uneasy route for the commuters.
They said that though the cops can also be seen regulating the traffic but the rush of vehicles as well as the occupation of roadsides by the street vendors didn’t let the commuters to enjoy smooth passage.
“We have seen officials vacating the street vendors from the roadsides but unfortunately that was a day-long show, which ended in a jiffy,” the locals said, adding that the commuters are being left to lurch at large.
Shoppers said that people are out to buy essentials especially clothes for the EID and government must take steps to ensure free and smooth movement for the commuters as well as the shoppers.
In city areas, the locals allege that the commuters park their cars wrongly, therefore bringing traffic mess in the area. “There is already congestion in city areas and parking vehicles illegally is making the area more prone to gridlock,” Ghulam Muhammad, a shopkeeper at Habba Kadal said.
An official in the traffic department wishing anonymity said that “people also don’t bother about traffic rules. This leads to traffic problems.”
He said that besides commuters, the pedestrians could be seen walking in the mid of the road. “Most of the time they don’t use footbridges, footpaths to cross the road,” the official added.
Meanwhile, several volunteers including boys and girls were seen regulating the traffic in the busy Lal Chowk.
The volunteers said that they opted to assist the traffic cops to ensure smooth and hassle free movement of commuters ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.