Srinagar, July 4: In times of mounting vehicular pressure and recurring traffic jams on roads in Jammu and Kashmir, the Traffic Department is dreaming big: asking government to introduce the metro service in the state.
 “Jammu and Kashmir is a tourist destination for all regions of the world. So both the locals and the foreigners are now eager to visit the various tourist and other spots of interest in the Valley. In this fast moving life, most of them want to see most of these spots in shortest possible period. Their desire can be met only when they have the quickest means of transport available to them,” writes the former inspector general of police (Traffic), Muhammad Amin Shah, in the Trafficinfo, the Department’s annual publication.
 This, he writes, can be achieved by exploring the possibility of introduction of air transport by the government. “The air transport can be considered between various tourist places like Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam, Amarnath cave etc. Similarly, the introduction of Railways, Metros etc can be considered by the government to ease the problem on the roads.” Shah writes, adding though Railway service between Qazigund and Varmul was in operation, more eco-friendly railways especially circular railways around the city connecting the tourist spots can be considered by the government.
 The Department has criticized the government for failing to explore alternate means of transport. “The state depends totally on the road surface transport. We have so far not fully explored the other means of transport. The state in general and Kashmir valley in particular has vast resources of water bodies. River Jehlum is one such water course which is cut in such a way that majority of valley population is situated on either side of river. Therefore, it had been used as principal course for voyages and carriage of goods in old days. The government should explore the possibility of reviving and modernizing this water course for transportation. This can certainly ease the situation on roads to a large extent,” Shah writes, much to the annoyance of the general public, who want the Department to concentrate on basics and “not dream big.”
 “This time se need to go for short-term measures to address the traffic mess. Later we can think of metros and alternate means of transport,” said Zahoor Ahmad, a civil engineer. “This time we need to concentrate on widening roads and having more flyovers. And then the department needs to be fully equipped to meet with the rising road accidents on roads which are claiming thousands of lives annually.”
 Pertinently, Greater Kashmir had in 2006 reported that an ambitious project to develop an Inland Water Transport (IWT) system on river Jhelum—lifeline of Srinagar city—was shelved after eight years of its formulation.
 The project was formulated to lessen traffic problems in the summer capital and prevent pollution in the Jhelum, Government made a proposal in 1996 to launch public transport system on the 27-km river stretch from Pampore to Chattabal. It employed the services of RITES, a Central Government enterprise, to make a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for development of the IWT system on the Jhelum. The RITES carried feasibility study of the project and proposed that the project “in its totality be executed in two years, and the implementation schedule worked out accordingly.” Subsequently, the job was officially entrusted to RITES on July 25, 1997. The company prepared a DPR about the traffic estimation and forecast, detailed design of waterway, passenger vessel and terminals on the projected volume, fixed competitive tariff for IWT and proposed the implementation of the IWT system with best economic and financial result. Eight years down the line, the files gathered dust in different government departments. The project was reportedly shelved as the “ non-technical persons who were given the responsibility of executing the project couldn’t understand its technicalities.”

Lastupdate on : Sun, 4 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 4 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST