While the encroachment of roads by vendors heads to no dead end in the commercial hubs in both Srinagar and as well as major towns of Kashmir valley, the traffic congestion also does not head to any dead end in Srinagar and major towns of Kashmir Valley. While the onus of curbing the road encroachments lies equally on the municipal bodies and traffic police department, the challenges of roads encroachment and as well as traffic congestions in the commercial hubs demand a joint response by the municipal bodies and the traffic police departments in cities and towns. Unfortunately authorities of both the municipal bodies and as well as the traffic police department in Srinagar city and as well as major townships of Kashmir valley are always selective in imposing curbs on road encroachments as they sometimes impose curbs just to silence critics threatening public protests against the road encroachments but allow the encroachers to reoccupy the roads barely few months or weeks later. Since vendors continue pulling hand carts to sell vegetables, fruits and several goods of common use for the whole day on the encroached roads just to earn their livelihoods, they are to be rehabilitated by the government in suitable commercial areas, but one time rehabilitation of the encroaches is the only way to end the continuing menace of road encroachments in cities and towns across Jammu and Kashmir. It has been observed in the past that road encroachers were rehabilitated by the government by allotting them shops in commercial hubs in cities and towns to help them earn their livelihood, but within months and weeks new encroachers come to occupy the footpaths vacated by the rehabilitated encroachers. This way the process of road encroachments has become an unending menace and if not curbed permanently will continue to intensity traffic congestion in cities and towns year after year.
“Administrative wisdom demands that Government devises a permanent policy for curbing the growing menace of road encroachments in cities and towns across Kashmir. Even naives can understand that once the road encroachment menace is curbed with heavy hands jointly by the authorities of civic bodies and traffic police department, the intensity of traffic congestion wont’ be as intense in the commercial hubs of Srinagar city and major towns of Kashmir valley as it is now”.
While the encroachment of roads and footpaths has become a never ending menace in commercial hubs in uptown Srinagar including Lal Chowk, Amirakadal, Jahangir Chowk, Mahraj Bazar, Goni Khan, Batmaloo and some other adjoining areas of the summer capital, the cause of increasing intensity in traffic chaos in these uptown areas is the movements of vendors who continue pulling their hand carts for selling vegetables, fruits and goods of common use on roads and footpaths throughout the day without facing any resistance either from the municipal bodies or traffic cops . Unless and until the movements of the vendors in these uptown areas of Srinagar city and civil lines areas of the most of the major towns across Kashmir are not checked, the authorities can’t facilitate any remarkable improvement in the traffic regulation system. Administrative wisdom demands that Government devises a permanent policy for curbing the growing menace of road encroachments in cities and towns across Kashmir. Even naives can understand that once the road encroachment menace is curbed with heavy hands jointly by the authorities of civic bodies and traffic police department, the intensity of traffic congestion wont’ be as intense in the commercial hubs of Srinagar city and major towns of Kashmir valley as it is now.
