Pantha Chowk traffic mess irks commuters ROAD WIDENING WILL TAKE SOMETIME: DC Srinagar: People traveling on Srinagar-Jammu highway face immense hardships at Pantha Chowk on city outskirts due to frequent traffic jam there. “Though, some work was done to pave way for smooth movement of traffic here. But what has been done is insufficient,” said Arif Bashir, a local. He said that it was felt district administration would implement the plan with good pace but all of sudden the work went down. District Administration had demolished over 60 illegal building structures, which had come on government land at Pantha Chowk. The demolition is expected to decongest the choked square on the highway. Ghulam Muhammad, a sumo driver who carries passengers from Srinagar to Islamabad (Anantnag) and vice versa, said: “We get stuck into traffic snarls near Pantha Chowk for hours together. Government needs to act rather than making plans on papers only.” “We were going to visit Pahalgam today. But wegot stuck in a jam near Pantha Chowk and were forced to return to our hotel,” said a family from Mumbai currently on Kashmir visit. Demanding the immediate implementation of original plan for road widening, the commuters said: “Administration has to act to perform. Mere assurances are not going to help anyone’s cause.” Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Shah, said: “Some structures have been demolished and the remaining 81 residential houses and 231 business establishments would be demolished once alternative rehabilitation is provided to the affected.” He said that shops cannot be demolished till their owners are provided alternative means for their livelihood. “A complex is coming up for the shopkeepers at Pantha Chowk where some of the affected would be shifted shortly. It will take some time to implement the original plan for road widening,” the DC added.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 04:01:21 +0000
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