Traffic jams pester commuters in Srinagar

Srinagar, Mar 11: Commuters faced a tough time on Monday due to massive traffic jams across the summer capital.

Commuters blamed the worsening traffic system to ongoing construction works, defunct traffic lights, and the absence of traffic management at critical intersections. .

Massive traffic jams were witnessed at Jehangir Chowk, MA Road, Batamaloo, Karan Nagar, Bohri Kadal, Lal Chowk, and its adjoining areas. Commuters were aghast over the absence of traffic cops in Downtown areas, turning their daily commute into a nightmare.

"It is nearly impossible to drive in city areas due to traffic mess and roadblocks, " said Rahil Mir, a commuter.

A traffic police official acknowledged the problem citing ongoing construction works at Jahangir Chowk, Batamaloo, and Dalgate for traffic congestion. "The flow of vehicles at these junctions has overwhelmed the capacity of roads, leading to jams,” said an official.

Commuters also said the non-functioning traffic lights, which were promised to improve traffic flow, have only added to the traffic congestion. "The new smart traffic lights, which were supposed to be upgraded, are now non-functional, which is adding to traffic chaos," Sahil Farooq, another commuter, said.

SSP Traffic City, Muzaffar Ahmad Shah, said that there was traffic surge due to the beginning of the holy month of Ramadhan.

"We are actively working to minimise diversions. Many diversions are there owing to ongoing development works. Once these are completed, we will see a significant improvement in traffic flow. We will have peak hours during the evening, mainly around Iftaar now when people will rush to their homes. We will ensure to manage traffic flow in the evenings accordingly. Today, there was also a huge influx of inter-district traffic, but we are hopeful that both traffic light issues and general traffic management will improve in coming days,” Shah added.