CM’s constituency struggles with gridlock

Ganderbal, Nov 18: Ganderbal, the high-profile constituency of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, is craving for road widening with concerned authorities seeming to be least concerned about the issue.

Though being considered a priority road, which connects vital areas and witnesses traffic from Srinagar to Ganderbal, Mansbal, Kangan, Sonamarg, and even Ladakh, the much-awaited road widening from Paandach to Wayil seems to have hit a roadblock, leaving people fuming.

The frequent traffic mess, particularly along the 4-km Nagbal-Beehama due to the narrow roads is causing inconvenience to the people, particularly patients.

“The road network in the town is below par although the traffic has increased,” the residents said.

They said that the encroachments on the roadsides and even footpaths have made things worse. The Beehama Chowk, a crucial stretch on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Ganderbal has been witnessing harrowing traffic jams for years.

Meanwhile, the authorities seem to have done very little, except hold meetings looking for solutions to the problems, which are swelling with the growing number of vehicles.

Locals said that at peak and evening hours, the traffic on the busy road remains badly affected as vehicles are seen stranded.

Though the district administration and the Traffic Police took some remedial measures in the past few months, the delay in actual road widening has been affecting traffic regulation.

Locals said that though politicians and bureaucrats claim that the road widening project from Paandach to Wayil has been taken up by the government, despite the passage of several years, the project work seems to be nowhere on the ground, leaving commuters to suffer.

A senior official in the Revenue Department here said that the project work was being carried out actively.

He said that the survey and other works were completed and the report was submitted to the higher authorities.

“The project is in progress and being carried out actively. However, some important paperwork and other formalities are to be completed. Only after that will the progress on the ground be visible,” the official said.

He said that the survey had been conducted and work on the road widening project would start early next year.

Meanwhile, the locals urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the local MLA, to intervene and resolve the issue.