Amid New Year celebrations, newly installed benches damaged at Lal Chowk

Srinagar, Jan 1: As historic LalChowk witnessed New Year celebrations, several newly installed benches were damaged during the event.

Traders in the city’s commercial hub were surprised to see multiple benches broken when they opened shops today morning. These benches were recently installed by Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) as part of its beautification project. Traders and people expressed their dismay over the act of destroying public property.

“We were shocked to see benches turned upside down, and some were even broken. This is unfortunate as the city centre is such an important spot and a lot of money was invested to beautify it. Such acts only reflect a lack of basic civic sense by unscrupulous persons during New Year celebrations,” said Ashiq Ahmad, a shopkeeper at LalChowk.

In addition to breaking benches, the selfie point near GhantaGhar was also missing from the spot. The place was recently in the news during International Pheran Day when people were seen clicking selfies at the spot.

As the pictures of the vandalisation of public property done at the city centre surfaced on social media, netizens reacted sharply. Netizens called out the lack of civic sense shown by some people.

“It is wrong to damage public property. Action should be taken against miscreants,” a netizen wrote.

Officials of Srinagar Smart City Limited said that the public should display civic sense and ensure that public property is not damaged.

“Such public places are meant for people, and any damage to it is unfortunate. Soon after we got information about the issue, we pressed men and machinery to fix the broken benches and assess if there was any other damage done. We appeal to people to restrain from damaging public property and defacing the city,” said an official from SSCL.

To mention, scores of people assembled at GhantaGhar to celebrate New Year. The event was witnessed by tourists as well as locals. A few months back, the tiles of the fountain at the same spot were broken in less than a day after its installation by Srinagar Smart City authorities.