Residents, commuters urge authorities to widen Shopian-Turkwangam road
Shopian, May 15: Residents and commuters in south Kashmir’s Shopian district are facing severe hardships due to the narrowness of the vital Shopian-Litter road. The road serves as a crucial link, connecting dozens of villages including Pinjoora, Pahnoo Turkwangam,Moulu, Chitragam,Heff and Litter to district headquarters. According to the residents, the road makes daily travel both difficult and risky.
Hundreds of people use the road every day for commuting to work, schools, hospitals, and markets. However, the lack of widening and poor maintenance have turned what should be a straightforward journey into a daily struggle. “Whenever I take this road I barely reach my work place on time’, said Mubashir Ahmad, who works at a computer institute in Shopian. The stretch also connects the area to Lassipora—an industrial hub in the neighboring Pulwama district—adding to the volume of traffic and further increasing congestion on the road. “The road is so narrow that two vehicles could not pass simultaneously at many points”, said Zaid Bhat, a student.
Bhat said the road’s narrow width often results in prolonged and frustrating traffic jams. “The lack of space forces vehicles to wait for approaching traffic to pass, creating bottlenecks, especially during peak hours”, said Bhat. A resident of Pahnoo said that the road is our only connection to the district headquarters, yet it has been ignored for years. “During rains, the situation becomes even worse, with waterlogging and slippery conditions making it dangerous to travel”, he said. The resident added that the narrow width has also led to several accidents, particularly involving two tractors and two wheelers. Shariq Ahmad, who frequently commutes along the road said that the school children and office goers frequently arrive late at their destinations. He added that the situation becomes even more challenging during the harvesting season.
“The traffic volume surges as hundreds of fruit-laden trucks use the route,” said Ahmad. Both the residents and commuters have appealed to the authorities to widen the road as soon as possible.
