Traffic chaos troubles commuters in Shopian

A traffic policeman is seen struggling to open a clogged up BataporaChowk. Some pedestrians are voluntarily trying to clear traffic in Bona Bazaar area. At 11:30 am, traffic in south Kashmir’s Shopian town is a mess.

“I am stuck here for the past 30 minutes. Every day I spend at least an hour caught in traffic. The commute through the town is exhausting,” said Javed Ahmad, a local businessman.

   

The traffic mismanagement, lack of parking lots and spacious sidewalks causes major traffic jams in the town, particularly at Bona Bazaar, BataporaChowk, Bongam and Hergam areas of the town.

According to commuters, the entry of heavy vehicles into the town during the peak hours is one of the main causes leading to traffic jams in the area.

“Hundreds of fruit-laden trucks passing through the town, particularly during the harvest season, result in massive traffic jams,” said a group of commuters.

They said that the administration should allow the entry of heavy vehicles into the town only during the night hours.

Few months ago, the district administration issued an order barring the entry of trucks and other heavy vehicles into the town from 9 am to 5 pm.

However, the locals said that the order was never implemented.

Many residents said that the lack of parking space in the town forces people to park vehicles on the road, which causes traffic woes.

“We brought the matter to the notice of the local administration many times but to no avail,” said a resident Abdul Rashid.

He said that the narrow pavements were causing traffic jams as the pedestrian are forced to walk in the middle of the road.

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