Commuters decry lack of evening transport in Uri

Uri, July 14: Lack of public transport in the evening hours is taking a toll on commuters of border town Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

Locals from different villages of Uri told Greater Kashmir that they face various hardships in reaching their destinations due to the non-availability of public transport in the evening.

“The issue has taken a toll on commuters, especially students, women, and elderly passengers. The cab services to all the major villages are not available after 5 pm,” said Bashir Ahmad, a passenger who travels to Uri market from Garkote village daily.

Abrar Bhat, another local from Uri, mentioned that cab drivers operate according to their preferences. “If a driver is from a specific village, they only operate on that route and are unwilling to ply on other routes. This is quite problematic,” he said.

“People in Uri, especially those living in villages along the LoC, find their lives becoming miserable due to the lack of public transport in the evening hours,” locals said.

The issue, according to the passengers, is more common on routes like Garkote, Nambla, Hathlanga, Sourha, Silikote, Machikrand, Charunda, Salamabad, Kalgai, Gawalta, Kamalkote, Chananwari and others.

Locals have appealed to the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, RTO Kashmir, and ARTO Baramulla to address their grievance on the priority.

Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari, Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Kashmir said that he has already received a complaint in this matter. “I am now planning to personally visit Uri and take stock of the situation,” he said.