Srinagar: Traffic Police said that they had implemented out of box ideas to ensure smooth traffic management at Hazratbal Shrine which witnessed the largest gathering on the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi (SAW) on Sunday.
Commuters, who usually face problems over the traffic mess in Srinagar on such occasions, expressed satisfaction over the traffic management at Dargah and other Srinagar areas.
“I had been going to Hazratbal for decades and over the past few years with the increase of traffic volume, the traffic mess had become a norm. People were usually facing inconvenience due to traffic jams and lack of parking spaces. However, today I was totally satisfied with the management by Traffic police who had implemented various measures to streamline the traffic,” said Altaf Ahmad, a devotee.
SSP Traffic Muzaffar Ahmad Shah, said the department had implemented some out of box measures to streamline the traffic at Hazratbal. He said that they had roped in volunteers and students who in collaboration assisted in streamlining the traffic.
“We had been doing the groundwork for the event for the past few weeks. We met all the stakeholders like transporters so that there will be coordination. SRTC officials also cooperated as they were instructed to keep the transport available,” Shah said.
He said that they had kept e-Rickshaws available so that elderly people won’t face any inconvenience. The senior official also said that as they were expecting a huge rush of vehicles on Eid-e-Milad-Un-Nabi, they had put maximum men on ground to manage the traffic.
“Our men on two wheelers were present on ground to make sure that all the traffic plans were followed in letter and spirit. These were some of the measures that we implanted this year and it helped a lot. Other departments also cooperated to make our traffic plan successful. We had made enough parking arrangements around Hazratbal that helped a lot,” he added.
To mention, the authorities had already issued a Traffic advisory, asking people to follow the route plan to ensure the devotees do not face hardships. An elaborate parking arrangement had been made at available locations around Hazratbal.