Baramulla, July 24: In the absence of proper traffic management, the residents and the business community of north Kashmir’s Baramulla town are facing immense hardships.
 A cursory look at the Tehsil road and Tashkent Chowk, particularly during the rush hour aptly portray the over all traffic mismanagement in the town. “Large serpentine queues of vehicles in the main market and the random parking of vehicles in front of business establishments has become hallmark of this town,” the locals told Greater Kashmir.
 “The parking of vehicles in no-parking zones and on roadsides in the town has choked almost all the main markets. There is no place for the pedestrians to walk,” said Showkat Ahmad a B.Sc second year student, adding the pedestrians had to walk on roads, which was life threatening as vehicles zoom past them many a times.
 With an aim to monitor and ensure smooth functioning of the traffic, Showkat said, the concerned authorities established traffic beat at Tehsil point several years. “However, they failed to deploy a traffic constable at the beat, due to which traffic jams have become order of the day in the area,” he said.
 “I fail to understand the purpose of this traffic beat without a constable,” said Ashiq Hussain, a shopkeeper at Tehsil road, adding the beat should be dismantled at an earliest.
 “The traders association and the civil society of the town have given several representations to the authorities, but so far they have failed to chalk out a strategy to overcome this problem,” a shopkeeper said.
 The non-availability of parking slots has also been a major contributing factor for the traffic chaos in the town. “The administration has also failed to construct parking lot, though it has been a long pending demand from the residents of this town,” the local said adding the establishment of parking areas would prove beneficial in the traffic management.
 “We suggested several measures to streamline the traffic in the town like one way traffic system at certain places, an alternate place for the vendors and deployment of traffic police in the town, but the authorities haven’t done anything substantial on ground” Beopar Mandal Baramulla, General Secretary, Bashir Ahmad Kanroo told Greater Kashmir.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:00:00 IST