Srinagar, Mar 24: Walking down few miles in the commercial centre of the city, historic Lal Chowk used to be an ideal activity for any commuter. But this walk has turned terrible owing to encroached footpaths, narrow, congested, and bumpy walkways. The problem is compounded by open-manholes, wrongly parked vehicles and water logging.
 While thousands of people from across the Valley move through Lal Chowk everyday, their movement is hampered by unending street vendors and hawkers.  A walk from Poloview to Amira Kadal stretch reflects the agony which the pedestrians have to face— the encroached streets, haphazard parking of vehicles, auto rickshaws and cart pullers bring this stretch to a grinding halt. 
 On a sunny Thursday afternoon, yet another day of regular chaotic scenes, the Traffic Police Department managed to ensure smooth flow of traffic in the Lambert Lane by vacating the parked vehicles there. But this action could not stop traffic jams on the main roads leading to Lal Chowk.  
 Until 3:30 pm, traffic was moving slowly but smoothly. As schools operating in Lal Chowk called it a day, a sudden surge in traffic, triggered by school buses brought the entire stretch to halt. There was an unending number vehicles honking endlessly.
 As the roads got blocked, it also brought endless woes to the commuters. The encroachment of footpaths and alleys by street vendors subjected the pedestrians to immense hardships. There was no space left to move.
 All along the stretch, footpaths were occupied by hawkers who had put their merchandise on show amid the traffic jam.  “In this city, it seems a rule is to be followed. There is no place for pedestrians. Neither roads nor footpaths are meant for them,” said Amjad Shah of Lal Bazar.
 “Roads and footpaths should be decongested to make safe movement for commuters,” he suggested.
  At Regal Chowk, pedestrians seemed to be caught in a dilemma, how to disembark the elevated footpath? There was an unending row of parked vehicles touching the stairs of a footpath, leaving no space for movement. Similar situation was evident near the historic Clock Tower.
 By Pratap Park, the footpaths were encroached by flower and seed vendors. Some metres away, even bikes and rickshaws were parked on footpaths blocking movement of pedestrians. As this was not enough, some private cellular operators had installed kiosks on the footpaths. 
 Besides, the commercial hub was littered with garbage giving it a filthy look. The public lavatories at Lal Chowk have either been closed or left abandoned by the authorities.
 “Who would imagine that this is the historical Lal Chowk where many towering political leaders once addressed public in 1947?,” said Ghulam Muhammad a retired Government employee while pointing towards the encroached footpaths and piles of garbage. 

Lastupdate on : Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:00:00 IST