Sluggish pace of Smart City works gives tough time to Srinagarites

Srinagar, Aug 6: With authorities failing to expedite works under the much-hyped Smart City project, people are facing a tough time due to dug-up and dilapidated roads in various areas of the summer capital.

Due to the slow pace of Smart City works, most of the roads in Downtown have uneven surface and are dotted with uncovered manholes. Commuters face tough time to navigate through dilapidated roads at Khanyar, Bohri Kadal, Nowpora, Rajouri Kadal and Nowhatta areas in Downtown.

“Work near Naqshband Sahib (RA) Shrine is going on at a snail’s pace and this is hindering traffic movement. Now, there is also a diversion put in place, and the traffic coming from the Babademb area has to move via Rainawari. These diversions are common in Downtown now and the reason is the slow pace of Smart City works and lack of coordination,” said Faiq Ahmad, a local from Nowhatta.

The locals said that following the development work in Downtown, many roads have been left uneven, which is making movement of vehicles difficult. “The problem with SSCL is that it is unable to complete works. It seems SSCL doesn’t have expertise with execute such a largescale project as its engineers and officers have been deputed from other departments. One of the examples of incompetence of SSCL is that the dig up manholes and keep it open without any barriers. This poses risk of accidents to commuters,” said Mehrajuddin a commuter pointing towards open manholes on main road leading to SMHS Hospital at Karan Nagar.

“Our vehicles are getting damaged on a daily basis. Uneven road stretch from Nowpora to Bohri Kadal is causing immense inconvenience to commuters. There is also a risk of accidents and this is because the work is not completed with perfection. You can see that on roads, the construction material is lying around, which is also posing a risk of accidents. Most roads are without black topping despite the Smart City project going on for years now,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, a commuter.

Chief Engineer Srinagar Smart City, Qayoom Kirmani, said that in next few days, blacktopping will be completed on the remaining road patches in Downtown.

“We will also complete cobblestone work at Naqshband Sahib area within a day. We have expedited work, and the remaining work will be completed shortly. We have taken up these works on a priority basis, and every issue will be addressed accordingly. There are some other works, too at Safa Kadal and Khanyar, which are taken care of by another department, and we are coordinating accordingly to finish it with the least inconvenience to commuters,” Kirmani added.