Srinagar: Commuters and traders have expressed strong resentment against haphazard execution of Smart City projects in the city centre areas.
They said that simultaneous construction of smart city projects has turned the city centre into a cesspool amid downpour.
Traders, students, and office goers who commute to and from the city centre Lal Chowk on daily basis resented haphazard execution of the projects.
Farhan Kitab, president of Regal Chowk Traders Association, said that the footfall of customers has drastically been affected due to Smart City projects. He said amid downpour, the roads are full of mess, and construction material is hindering movement of traffic.
“The traffic along Residency Road has been badly affected. It has in turn affected our business. We understand that officials from Smart City are on toes to ensure speedy work, but when multiple things are going on at the same time, there is no space for coordination. There is no business, and we have stopped buying fresh stock amid the uncertainty that has prevailed since the projects started in the city. We hope that the concerned department will again revisit the whole issue so that the development projects won’t cripple the city at this magnitude,” Kitab said.
The commuters, office goers, and students said that they are not against development projects, but how they are being carried out creates inconvenience. They said that amid rains, the issue has become unbearable.
“These projects have forced closure of roads at various places and resulted in traffic jams. Students and other commuters are suffering. The work should have been carried out so that minimum inconvenience is caused. There is no availability of transport, and even few vehicles on roads are creating bottlenecks in the city center. We hope that better coordination will be ensured by all the departments,” said Shabir Ahmad, an office goer.
Greater Kashmir did a series of stories on the Smart City project over the past few months.
While speaking to various experts and Town planners about smart city projects, they said that all the projects must be done in a coordinated way so that the least inconvenience is caused and normal life does not come to a standstill.
In a recent conversation with this reporter, SMC Commissioner said that they would ensure the completion of projects in two months so that things can come back to normal.