Srinagar, Oct 24: With no let up in traffic jams on roads leading to the City centre of Lal Chowk, many now prefer to walk the Lal Mandi footbridge for reaching the commercial hub.
 Come relaxations in line with the Hurriyat calendar announced by veteran profreedom leader Syed Ali Geelani, the Lal Mandi footbridge remains busy catering the heavy rush of pedestrians coming and going to the Lal Chowk.
 While commuters of public transport vehicles get down from the buses at Lal Mandi on the Silk Factory Road, many driving their private vehicles park the cabs in the area.
 The results are quite visible. While the bridge is flooded with pedestrians, the two parking lots near it on the west side of Jhelum are often jam-packed so much other stoppers have to park their vehicles on the main road.
 Interestingly, the commuters say walking down the bridge is convenient to reach the heart of the commercial hub than riding a vehicle.
 “It takes around half an hour to travel in a car from Jehangir Chowk to Lal Chowk. So I find the bridge convenient,” said Abdul Majeed, a businessman.
 Irked by the frequent traffic jams, Majeed said he has stopped taking his vehicle to the marketplace.
 “I only prefer to walk the footbridge even if I have to park my vehicle a mile away at Raj Bagh on the other side of Jhelum,” he added.
 The advantageous location of the bridge gives a three way routing at the Lal Chowk end. The path straight connects to the Ghanta Ghar, the right links with Regal Chowk and the Poloview, while the left connects one with the Amirakadal Bridge.
 The students of Tyndale Biscoe and Mallinson also prefer the bridge walkway.
 “We use the bridge to pick and drop my daughters at Mallinson,” said Zarina Showkat, a parent from south City suburb.
 With considerable rush of people on the bridge, observers said the adjacent Bund could be used for Sunday market business.
 “The Sunday Market people have always been reluctant in shifting of the business away from Lal Chowk. But the Abiguzar Bund could serve as an alternative as it’s within the commercial hub and of-course busy,” said a retired police official.
 Pertinently, the long pending footbridge at the site was constructed during the PDP-Congress regime led by Mufti Muhammad Sayed who took the project as challenge because “his predecessors had failed in its execution”.
 The bridge was constructed within two years and thrown open for public movement on July 13, 2005.
 But since then little concern seems to have been paid towards the footbridge, particularly towards the lighting which is often out of order.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 24 Oct 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 IST