Narrow road in Shopian enhances travel time, cause traffic jams

A narrow road between Shopian and Aglar area is causing immense hardships to the commuters.

The road serves as a primary link, connecting dozens of villages like Pinjoora, Pahnoo Turkwangam, Chitragam and Heff to district headquarters. According to the residents, the stretch also links the area with Lassipora, an  industrial zone in neighbouring Pulwama district,  which significantly enhances the traffic  and makes the road even busier.

“The road is so narrow that two vehicles could not pass simultaneously  at many points,” said Zaid Bhat, a student.  He said that the narrowness of the road leads to long and pesky traffic snarls. “The lack of space forces vehicles to wait for approaching traffic to pass, creating bottlenecks, especially during peak hours,” said Bhat.

Many commuters said that  traffic jams significantly enhance travel time. “The school children and office goers frequently arrive late at their destinations”, said Mukhtar Ahmad, who commutes daily along the road.  He added that the situation worsened more during the harvesting season.

“The volume of traffic multiplies as hundreds of fruit-laden trucks travel along the road,” said Ahmad. Both the residents and commuters have appealed  to the newly elected government to widen the road.