Multiple protests were held in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Monday against the “failure” of the administration in redressing the issues of public grievances.
These protests caused massive traffic jams on the Baramulla-Handwara and Baramulla-Srinagar highway, creating hardships for the commuters.
The residents of Bagwanpora Singhpora, Pattan Monday morning appeared on the Baramulla-Srinagar highway and staged a protest demonstration against the Power Development Department (PDD) against the department’s failure in returning the electric transformer in their possession for repair purpose for the past three months.
Raising slogans against PDD, the protesters said that the area was reeling under darkness for the past three months and that the failure of the administration to address their grievances had left them with no option but to block the highway.
“Aren’t three months enough to repair an electric transformer? PDD seems least bothered about the people’s plight,” said Ghulam Hassan of Bagwanpora Singhpora Pattan.
The road blockage caused a chaos-like situation on the highway, leading to a serpentine traffic jam with hundreds of trucks and passenger vehicle stranded on either side of the highway.
Some officials from the district administration were also caught in the traffic jam.
Later, the Sub Divisional Magistrate and a contingent of Police visited the spot and assured the protesting people that their issue would be resolved at the earliest.
In another incident of resentment against the district administration, scores of residents of Stadium Colony Baramulla blocked the Baramulla-Handwara road Monday morning against the inundation of their residential colony.
Due to the blockage of the road, the vehicles moving towards Kupwara, Handwara and Rafiabad areas were stranded for several hours and the road was cleared only after the intervention of the Police.
Firdous Ahmad, an aggrieved resident, said dozens of houses in their residential colony were inundated, and the chance of the damage to the houses was high.
Ghulam Qadir, another resident of the colony, said, “The authorities are doing nothing to drain out the rain water.”
The protesting residents said that in absence of a drainage system, the entire colony gets inundated in rain water.
“If a proper drainage system is not laid, the houses in the colony will collapse,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a local.
Following massive protests in the area, a Police party reached the spot and cleared the road after assuring the aggrieved protestors that their issue would be resolved at the earliest.