Srinagar, Aug 18: At a time when routine rush of three odd lakh vehicles leaves the City centre roads chocked what will be the scene when the flow doubles? Well, this nightmarish query is expected to a reality in the coming days for festive shopping ahead of Eid Ul Fitr.
 Given the past shopping trend and growing number of vehicles, as many as six lakh cars are expected to drive down the City centre for shopping mostly in the Batmaloo-Dalgate stretch.
 Officials said the Traffic police has conducted a study which forecasts a surge in the vehicle rush by almost double. But this rush is expected to further the traffic mess, as happens always, should the authorities fail to make requisite arrangements will in time.
 Parking of vehicles
 Observers said parking of vehicles could be a major problem in the City centre which is running short of the requisite space. There are only four government owned parking lots in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and its neighborhood with an aggregate capacity of two thousand odd vehicles.
 The observers suggested that Polo Ground could provide an ideal space for parking of vehicles and also prevent undue flow of vehicles into the City centre.

ROADSIDE VENDORS
 Ahead of festivals, the number of roadside vendors swells and most of the Regal Chowk-Lal Chowk and Jehangir Chowk stretch remains occupied by them. This creates bottlenecks on the already not-so-wide roads.
 The ideal solution to this problem, observers said, is that the roadside vendors of these areas be given temporary accommodation at some nearby open space but not on the main roads.
 “We cannot ignore these vendors as many of them make livelihood for months together out of the festive shopping. So they need to be given some space close to the roads,” said a retired traffic police official requesting not to be named.
 Observers said, the Pratap Park which is undergoing facelift could be utilized for the footpath vendors while SK Park could also be put to use.
 “When such places can be used for public rallies which only add to traffic congestion why not to utilize the space for streamlining of traffic,” argued a town planner.
 Likewise for footpath peddlers in the Hari Singh High Street area, the wide lane adjacent to Khalsah School can be utilized.
 For the footpath vendors of Batamaloo area, the vacant land along the Doodh Ganga could be utilized.
 Moreover, roadside display of commodities by the shopkeepers in areas like Hari Singh High Street needs to be checked because such encroachments force the pedestrians to walk on the road thereby disrupting traffic.

FINE FOR WRONG PARKING
 Observers said to avoid roadside parking of vehicles, the Traffic police should launch a rigorous drive to fine the offenders.
 “The traffic police should come up with public notifications through print and electronic media to inform the public about the issue ahead of the festival shopping.”

DELAY WON’T HELP
 Going by the thumb rule, such arrangements to tackle the huge traffic flow should be well in place much before the expected rush. Observers said the Divisional Commissioner Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon should chair a joint meeting of police and civil administration including Srinagar Municipal Corporation so that various squads could be evolved for the task.

TRAFFIC POLICE PLEA
 When contacted the SP Traffic Srinagar Maqsood Ul Zaman said the department was making preparations on their side.
 “We have sought permission for a temporary parking lot at  a playfield where a big number of vehicles could be parked during the festive shopping,” the SP told Greater Kashmir.
 He however declined to speak about the traffic congestion by way of footpath vending and related business.
 “That’s not our job but its for the SMC to look into the matter,” the SP said.
 Asked if the men in blue have discussed the matter with the civic body, the official remained tight lipped.

OFFICIALS SPEAK
 Despite repeated attempts the Divisional Commissioner and the SMC Commissioner Sheikh Mushtaq couldn’t be contacted.
 When contacted the District Development Commissioner Srinagar Meraj Ahmed Kakroo agreed that problem could arise because of festive shopping rush. “I will provide a detailed  report tomorrow,” he said.
 Mubarak Gul, Advisor to Chief Minister on the other hand said the government was already preparing for the situation.
 “I have already taken a meetings in this regard… We will again convene a meeting of concerned departments and get the preparations  finalized so that people don’t face any inconvenience,” Gul said.
 He, however, appealed the people to refrain from undue traversing of Lal Chowk.
 “Today I had to go to Safa Kadal but instead of taking the Lal Chowk route I drove via Munawarabad and Fateh Kadal to reach my constituency conveniently without any traffic mess enroute,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 18 Aug 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 IST