Srinagar, Jan 13: The few inches of snow that accumulated on roads on Friday disrupted normal life in Srinagar.
The commuters said that slippery roads and traffic jams created inconvenience for them.
Due to snowfall, shoppers, office goers, and students were seen rushing in a bid to reach home early, which added to the already chaotic traffic.
Traffic jams were reported from various parts of Srinagar, including uptown, downtown, and Srinagar outskirts. Being Friday, the day of major congregational prayers in Dargah Hazrtabal, the commuters said that traffic jams created problems for them.
“Although many avoided going out, yet, Hazratbal area witnessed huge rush and traffic jams. People who had parked their vehicles on the roads added to the issue. As the day passed, there were huge traffic jams in area like Saida Kadal, Lal Bazaar, Zukura, Habak and other areas,” said Ishfaq Ahmad, a commuter. Locals complained that public transport remained off the roads earlier than usual, giving them a tough time.
They said that the buses and cabs operating from Lal Chowk and other city areas remained off the roads.
“This happens during every downpour, particularly during snowfall.
Everyone does not own a vehicle, and given that it was a working day, we had to attend the office but there were very few cabs and buses which left the passengers stranded,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a commuter.
The traders and other commuters in the city center said that the mud from the ongoing development projects made the roads slippery. “The vehicles were skidding, and two-wheelers were mostly having a tough time. These developments work in the middle of winter have made navigating through the city a tough job. It is hard to ride a two-wheeler in such conditions,” said Aadil, a two-wheeler rider.
The passengers appealed to the public transport operators to follow a schedule so that they get some respite during winter. Providing details of the essential services in Srinagar, DC Srinagar Muhammad Aijaz Asad told Greater Kashmir that a road length of 1519.53 km had been cleared.
He said that all the 112 water supply schemes were functional. “Against the 10,500 metric tonnes of storage capacity, 6729 metric tonnes of food grains are available in FCI godowns in Srinagar while 82,500 LPG cylinders are available for next 16 days,” he said.
Asad said that all 36 transformers of 33-KV are charged and of 11-KVA transfoemrs all but one is charged while only two transformers had been damaged out of 6933 transformers. He said in the SMC, 80 permanent de-watering stations and 122 mobile pumps are fully functional to meet any eventuality.
“No water-logging issue has been reported so far,” Asad said. “A control room under the supervision of Joint Commissioner, Works, SMC has also been is established.”