Srinagar, Dec 18: This Soura square in north City is often in a mess with people particularly those heading towards Valley’s sole tertiary care hospital, the SK Institute of Sciences (SKIMS) facing inconvenience.
 The presence of public transport buses coupled with presence of roadside vendors not only leads to gridlocks but even triggers noise pollution.
 The noise is more uncomfortable for the patients at the SKIMS Maternity Ward, which is close to the square while the others too face inconvenience.
  “If government spends crores of rupees on the renovation and advanced infrastructure of the Soura Institute then why the square just outside its main gate remains so occupied with vehicles and roadside vendors all the time? Why can’t government do anything about it?” argued a medico hailing from Hyderpora locality.
 Added residents of areas like Buchpora: “If roads leading to other places like Airport, Railway Station, and Secretariat are without any obstruction why this problem enroute Valley’s sole tertiary healthcare institute?”
 The attendants of the patients admitted in the hospital and its maternity unit came up with complaints saying there remains a lot of noise at the square all the time, which becomes irritable for patients.
 “Lot of noise is produced by the overcrowding of stranded vehicles and shouting roadside vendors at Soura square,” patients’ attendants at SKIMS complained.
 Sources at SKIMS said the square mess even leads to delay in rushing patients to the hospital.
 “At times the condition of patients deteriorates as they can’t be rushed in speedily because of the gridlocks outside the hospital,” said a paramedic.
 When contacted Divisional Commissioner Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Traffic Police department are supposed to look after these issues.
 “It is the duty of SMC and Traffic Police to look after such issues and curb this menace,” Samoon said.
 When contacted SMC officials said that they have already launched a drive to discourage the roadside vending.
 “We have already launched a drive in the City to discourage roadside vending and as far as Soura square is concerned, it is indeed an essential site which leads to SKIMS. We will gear up our drive and make this square free from any kind of deterrence in terms of roadside vendors,” Fayaz Ahmad Bala, Deputy Commissioner, SMC told Greater Kashmir.
 Traffic Police department has its own take on the issue. They blamed the administration for failing to setup a bus yard near this essential healthcare institute.
 “The government has failed to establish a bus yard near this busy tertiary healthcare institute and due to this, the buses have no options other than to halt on the road near Soura square,” said a police official.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 18 Dec 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 IST