Traffic congestion increasing on an uncontrolled pace within and outside Srinagar city is fast reducing the parking space amid unprecedented increase in congestion of private cars, passengers’ cabs and matador buses both on the city routes of Srinagar and highways leading to other district headquarters of Kashmir valley. In fact reducing parking space for passenger cabs, matador buses and private cars is the bigger cause of traffic congestion on all the city routes and highways leading to most of the district headquarters of Kashmir valley. What goes unnoticed is the fact that the increasing traffic jams are fast reducing the working hours both in the government offices and as well as the local trade outlets not only in Srinagar but also in most of the major towns of Kashmir valley and the losses as such caused due to huge loss of time in the working of both government offices and as well as commercial establishments if calculated will be running into several crores of rupees on daily basis across Kashmir. Increasing traffic jams by all standards of understandabilities can’t be reduced without increasing the parking spaces in the commercial hubs of Srinagar city and major towns of Kashmir valley. While there are two mechanised parking slots for private cars in City Centre Lal Chowk in Srinagar, the government has shut most of the parking facilities for passenger cabs and mini passenger buses in city centre Lal Chowk and in the process no new parking facilities have been built anywhere in the entire city centre for either the passenger cabs or the matador buses mostly parked at the corners of main roads.
Interventions for reducing the traffic jams by increasing the parking spaces in commercial hubs of Srinagar city and major towns of Kashmir valley could bring immediate respite to the hapless urban populations in valley’s capital city Srinagar and major towns. Traffic jams are not a concern only for traffic regulators only but also for the urban planners in Kashmir valley.
Consequently at every nook and corner the road side parking of passenger cabs and matador buses is triggering huge traffic jams in all the city centre areas of Srinagar and commercial hubs of major towns of Kashmir valley. Unfortunately reducing parking space is now forcing traffic regulator to divert traffic from main city roads to the roads alongside the banks of river Jehlum in South Srinagar areas and shockingly even ambulances are not allowed to ply on main roads from 10.00 A.M to 5.00 P.M and instead diverted to roads alongside banks of river Jehlum. Even the school timings for summer months are rescheduled to the free movement of political leaders and top bureaucrats. Such traffic measures are obviously designed to ensure travel of elite class through comfort zones at the cost of travel conveniences of the general public. Increasing traffic jams are not only triggering huge inconveniences only to travels but are also hugely disturbing the routine business operations and the trading activities in Srinagar city and major towns of Kashmir valley. What matters the most is the huge impact of increasing traffic jams on health of the people and environment of Kashmir valley. So interventions for reducing the traffic jams by increasing the parking spaces in commercial hubs of Srinagar city and major towns of Kashmir valley could bring immediate respite to the hapless urban populations in valley’s capital city Srinagar and major towns. Traffic jams are not a concern only for traffic regulators only but also for the urban planners in Kashmir valley.
