Srinagar, Aug 17: With the coalition government failing to “adequately strengthen the staff starved” Traffic police, and take up any superhighway projects, VIPs seem to have started tasting traffic jams, a routine inconvenience for Aam Aadmi in the summer Capital.
 In the latest it was IT Minister Aga Ruhullah who Tuesday afternoon got stuck in a gridlock on the Airport Road, but much away from the sight of any Traffic cop.
 Witnesses said Ruhullah who was driving his official white Safari couldn’t find space to proceed as hundreds of vehicles struggled to crawl towards Ram Bagh.
 At once his security guards jumped out of the vehicles and started asking other drivers to pave way for the cavalcade. But Ruhullah kept driving patiently like any other driver.
 Finally after some 10 minutes, the cavalcade reached close to Traffic beat at Rambagh and started blowing siren, an indicator of VIP movement.
 The traffic cops who were trying their best to give side to huge chuck of vehicles turn-by-turn from all sides, at once stopped regular movement and allowed the VIP cavalcade and other vehicles heading towards the Aiport Road take a lead. And this was how Ruhullah managed to make his way out, presumably towards his Budgam home.
 Pertinently, while the roads including the Ram Bagh stretch remains congested, the National Conference led government has failed to provide respite even as there has been no augmentation in the number of Traffic cops. Mere 250 of the men in blue manage the entire City traffic that too only on the VIP roads while the rest of the routes frequented by Aam Aadmi are void of any traffic police assistance. There are no traffic cops on the busy squares in areas like Sekidafar, Karan Nagar, Khayam Chowk, Nawa Bazar, Kak Sarai, Khanyaar, Hawal, Maharaj Gunj, Barzulla Baghat, Natipora, and Chanapora and the adjoining Bypass bridge.
 Ironically, for the past around two years, there has been no breakthrough in the proposed construction of much hyped flyover between Jehangir Chowk and Natipora, which was scheduled to decongest the area.
 Similar is the scene on the highway which connects the City with north and south Kashmir. At Shalteng, a narrow road stretch hinders smooth flow of traffic(to, and from the north) while same is the case at Pantha Chowk, a link to south Kashmir and Jammu.
 As about Aga Ruhullah, he seems to be the third VIP in line seen stuck in gridlocks. Earlier it was former Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayed and Cabinet Minister Ali Muhammad Sagar who were seen held up at Shalteng, where four laning is awaited for the past four years and Aam Aadmi faces inconvenience almost everyday. But unlike the VIPs!

Lastupdate on : Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST