Srinagar: Commuters are facing a tough time due to the defunct Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS) in the summer capital.
They said that most of the traffic lights are non-functional at various places in Srinagar triggering traffic jams.
Commuters said the authorities, despite investing huge sums of money to make the city better for commuters under the Smart City project, the main component of traffic management is not working properly.
“This has become a routine now that we have to commute without traffic lights. It took years for authorities to install a new traffic light system, and now, these are not working. The new Smart Traffic light system was supposed to make the traffic system better, but it has made the issue worse with its non-functioning,” said Zahid Ahmad, a commuter.
The aggrieved commuters said that with multiple Smart City projects going on in the city, there are many traffic diversions in place.
“Amid traffic diversions, we thought the Smart Traffic lights would help, but unfortunately, that has not happened. The traffic flow is taking a hit, with commuters getting confused amid defunct traffic lights,” said another commuter.
The commuters said that at most of the junctions, the traffic is being managed manually despite the installation of Smart traffic lights. They said that traffic jams in Srinagar have become a norm, and defunct traffic lights are a major reason for that.
“It has been a long time since the traffic lights were installed, but they are useless as they are defunct across major junctions,” said Hyder Shah, another commuter.
Greater Kashmir did multiple stories on the issue, and officials said that the project was implemented for the better management of traffic. They said the system, which is equipped with smart cameras and a state-of-the-art control room, would help streamline the traffic in the city.
SSP Traffic City, Muzaffar Ahmad Shah said that the traffic light system is undergoing configuration, and these will start working soon.
“We are done with the installation and other work. Right now, we are doing the configuration part, and once that is done, the lights will work. Once this technical part is done, we will have 95 percent of the traffic lights working,” Shah said.
