Unfulfilled dream of decongesting old town Baramulla leaves locals in despair

Baramulla: In the heart of Baramulla, the old town stands as a silent witness to its glorious past, a past that has slowly faded with time.

Once a thriving trade centre, it now grapples with the burden of congestion and a lack of essential infrastructure, leaving the dreams of its residents unfulfilled.

The consistent lack of interest shown by the successive regimes in its development has left its residents to yearn for basic amenities.

The glaring example of this neglect is the long-overdue decongestion programme, which has remained stagnant for nearly two decades.

Announced earlier by the then dispensation, the decongestion project was aimed to address the densely-populated old town’s infrastructure issues.

The congested lanes and by-lanes not only hindered development but also posed a significant risk in the event of a natural calamity.

The project gained much importance after the then State administration survey for a Centrally-sponsored scheme found that the entire area of the old town Baramulla was like a slum area with insufficient basic amenities available to its residents.

The overlapping residential houses, each residential house housing three to four families is Baramulla district’s most congested area in case of any natural calamity could witness major catastrophe.

The project envisioned the relocation of several residential houses and shops to make way for broader roads and decongest the area.

Specifically, it planned to construct three crucial roads in Tawheed Gunj, Banglow Bagh, and Iqbal Colony.

For years, the project made little progress, causing frustration among the locals.

While a few residential houses were relocated and compensated, the project seemed to hit a standstill.

The estimated cost of Rs 25 crore was prepared by the authorities at the initial stage, and a shopping complex was planned to accommodate the affected shopkeepers.

However, as years passed, locals began to question the fate of the project.

It appeared to have been shelved or kept in abeyance, leaving residents feeling deceived.

The decongestion project held the promise of transforming the old town, potentially changing the lives of its residents for the better.

It was an integral part of the ‘Greater Baramulla’ programme and gained momentum after the 2005 earthquake that damaged numerous residential houses in north Kashmir.

The primary goal was to provide the area with modern facilities, ensuring swift access to essential services in case of a natural disaster.

However, the lack of a serious approach and consistent setbacks prevented the project from taking off.

Ghulam Rasool, a resident of Mohalla Mir Sahab, said that if a fire incident took place in the area, there was no chance that fire tenders to reach the place of the incident.

He said such natural calamities could prove extremely devastating for the area.

“The lack of proper roads and congestion make the area most vulnerable to disasters,” Ghulam Rasool said. “The much-pending decongestion programme shows a lack of interest of the authorities in keeping the area at par with the rest of the areas of the district.”

Traders Federation Baramulla President, Tariq Ahmad Mughloo, while commenting on the issue said that it had been pending for two decades.

He said that as a civil society member and president of the Traders Federation Baramulla, he raised this issue several times with the top officials of the State government, however, there was no progress and it seems the issue had been kept in abeyance for unknown reasons.

“Earlier, around Rs 11 crore were released for the decongestion programme. However, as time passed, the authorities deserted the project, leaving locals disappointed,” Mughloo said.