Bandipora traders, locals urge authorities to make multi-level car parking facility operational

Bandipora, Apr 05: Traders and locals in Bandipora district in north Kashmir are appealing to the administration to make the town’s multi-level car parking facility functional by expediting finishing works, without any further delay to ease daily traffic mess.

Although the construction on the facility  began in 2023, the facility, nearly complete is still not operational yet, as daily traffic jams and parking chaos in market areas with narrow roads have worsened manifold.

“There’s a traffic jam every day because vehicles are parked on the roadsides. Our roads were built in the 1970s and haven't been widened since. There's no space to handle the growing number of vehicles,” said a local trader, Ali Mohammad Hajam said.

Members of the Traders' Federation and other residents say they’ve raised the issue multiple times, but authorities have assured action but are yet to act.

“If there was real interest from the concerned department, this parking would have been opened by now. We’ve waited long enough,” another trader, Javid Ahamad Shah, added.

People are also upset about being fined by traffic police for roadside parking when no proper parking is available.

“Legally, you can’t challan someone unless you provide a proper parking facility,” said Hajam.

They also pointed out how this affects emergencies.

“If someone brings a patient to the market, where will they park the car? Without a parking area, they’re forced to stop in by the road side. If a parking facility is made available, both the traffic and the people with exigencies can be managed in a better way,” a local explained.

Another concern traders shared is a tin shed built in front of shops near the facility when construction works started.

Despite "complaints and an official ultimatum from the Deputy Commissioner", the shed still hasn’t been removed, alleged the traders.

“If they can’t remove one shed in over 20 days, how can we expect them to open a full parking facility?” a shopkeeper questioned.

Traders also demand that the link road which has been blocked and gated to curtail traffic movement due to the construction be thrown open to regulate traffic citing much of the heavy works since having been completed.