Traffic jams return to haunt Srinagarites

Srinagar: Commuters have expressed strong resentment against massive traffic jams across the summer capital on Monday.

Traffic jams were witnessed in city centre areas throughout the day. However, traffic came to a standstill during peak evening hours. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on MA Road, Lal Chowk, Sanat Nagar, Bypass and Rawalpora in the evening.

 “Due to traffic diversions and closure of vital MA Road intersections, traffic jams have become a norm now. Today traffic jams were at peak in the evening,” said Saleem Bhat, a commuter.

The commuters said that due to inclement weather, many commuters on Monday tried to leave for homes early, making traffic gridlocks worse.

“It was stormy and raining on Monday, and in such a situation people try to rush to reach home. Mostly two-wheelers are in a hurry due to fear of heavy downpour which makes the situation messy. In such cases, more traffic cops are needed to manage the traffic so that this issue is addressed,” said Adil Ahmad, another commuter.

The commuters said that multiple traffic diversions in city centre areas lead to traffic jams. “We appeal to the Traffic department to address the issue of traffic diversions. These diversions should be reduced, and alternatives like better traffic lighting systems and other measures should be used instead,” said another commuter.

Commuters said essential services like ambulances also get stranded in traffic jams in places like Downtown, which can be detrimental for critical patients who are being shifted to hospitals. They said that multiple drainage and other road work projects are also triggering traffic jams for hours.

Greater Kashmir did a series of stories on the issue. Senior officials from the Traffic Department said that they are addressing the issue of diversion, and soon the situation will be better. The officials also said that once the major development projects in the city centre are complete, that will also ease the traffic.