Are our administrators responsible for the mess in Srinagar city?

inam ul rehman 

 

Our society is a reflection of the façade of things we put on display. Maybe we like to be chaotic with no sense of responsibility. We want everything to happen on its own. That is why we don’t make our administration accountable. Whatever plan the administration puts in, we accept it. 

 

Why do our city’s roads shrink rather than expand? Why does our city become chaotic with every passing year? There are many, many questions which we don’t ask our administrators. 

 

Shrinking roads, traffic jams are because of shops on roadsides and vendors  

 

Take the example of the roads. Wherever roads are constructed shops pop up making it difficult to ply vehicles. Because when shops come on the roadside people have to stop to buy things, and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation never asks shopkeepers to keep car space. People start to believe that parking on the roads is their birthright. As a result, a road of 25 feet gets reduced to 12 feet which creates traffic jams. Add to it vendors being allowed anywhere they like.  

 

Isn’t it amazing to think how are shops allowed on both sides of the roads? Why isn’t construction barred near the roadsides? When any government acquires land for road construction why isn’t some spare land kept for future widening of the roads? We have traffic jams even on the bypasses! Think. 

 

Why does Srinagar city have rarity of service lanes? Why are our pedestrian walkways not meant for people? Why are these pedestrian walkways occupied by vendors, or shopkeepers? When shops are allowed on any side of the road it will automatically create hurdles in smooth flow of traffic? Yet shops sprout up wherever there is even a glimpse of road, even residential places have been turned into shopping hubs. Look at Jawhar Nagar, Sanat Nagar, what have they been turned into. 

 

Isn’t interesting to see that while in other zones people plant greenery along the roads we dug out their roots here. We make sure our roads are bereft of any greenery, or if planted we ensure they don’t grow.     

And then you have many road arteries dug out without thinking about traffic. Our bureaucrats do things first, think later, and then plan things in a haphazard manner. 

 

Dude, where are zebra crossings, bus stops?

Isn’t it interesting to note we have only few zebra crossings where no vehicle stops and no walkers cross.  It seems the University of Kashmir has more zebra crosses than the entire Valley of Kashmir.  Our authorities do not consider it of any value. That is why we see traffic lights are not functional. That is why we don’t see online challans which will help in reducing rash driving.  It will also make the life of pedestrian walking easy. 

One may find a few bus stops in Srinagar, but note buses don’t stop there. No consistent effort has been made to make both people and transporters board from there. People board public transport anywhere.  And the drivers stop in the middle of the road as there is no online monitoring of the traffic. 

 

Tsunami of public LMV on roads while buses disappear

                          

We see sumos, taveras in abundance on our roads. Little do we question our administration why are buses disappearing from our roads? With the increase in such light motor vehicles on our roads, will it help in any way to reduce traffic jams, control pollution, and mitigate the lack of transport problem in the evenings? The lack of public transport coupled with its slow-motion moment forces people to buy their own vehicles which creates more burden on the chaotic city. The government may put up a few hundred buses on the road, unless private players are not convinced to give up LMV for buses, things will not improve. 

 

It has been 10 years yet the traffic police has not found any solution to traffic jams at the Rambagh junction. The department does not have any will to divert one way traffic toward link roads which are available in plenty. 

 

We don’t make our administrators accountable. Otherwise, how is it possible that our houses dwarf every time roads are macadamised?  Why are old layers of any road not removed before laying of the new one? Why do our roads tear off in one season?  

 

We never seek answers. We let our administrators do anything without questioning them. 

In government offices you are taken seriously only when you put things on paper. The government machinery is blind unless and until things are not brought into its notice. Unfortunately, the majority of us are not willing to go that extra mile. All we do is to talk with each other, and expect our talking will do magic.  

 

Garbage Hills 

Our city stinks from every corner. It is littered with garbage. Why is it so? Why does the SMC install dustbins near schools? And here they don’t distinguish between government or private schools. The SMC, it seems, encourages people to throw garbage on the roads.
How many of us write to the administration to remove these things? Of course, we throw our garbage on the roadside and then complain of dog menace.   

 

Dogs, dogs everywhere 

 

A lot has been written on this topic. But I am not sure how many appeals have been forwarded to the administration, or how many RTIs have been submitted to know what the SMC is doing about this menace. With the SMC encouraging people to dump their garbage on roads dog population will increase, and so will their fearlessness. Dogs always move in packs and that is where they are most aggressive and dangerous (https://www.greaterkashmir.com/city/stray-dog-menace-assumes-horrendous-dimensions-in-srinagar)

 

The much touted “Animal Birth Control Programme” of the SMC is yet to take off (https://www.greaterkashmir.com/todays-paper/kashmir-todays-paper/growing-population-of-stray-dogs-animal-birth-control-programme-yet-to-take-off ) . In this scenario how will dog bites diminish? 

While a person dragging a dog is arrested, how will dogs be sentenced for biting people?(http://risingkashmir.com/man-held-for-dragging-dog-tied-to-a-scooty-in-srinagar-police). In all civilised societies animals do have rights, however when the same animals become a threat to humans the rights of the latter prevail over the former.  According to news reports, the dog population alone in the city of Srinagar is one lakh! Which effectively means that for every 13 persons we have one dog to counter with! It is a humongous and horrific picture.  

  

I don’t know if the much-touted smart city will be inclusive for our disabled population. I don’t know if our administrators have constructed ramps, toilets, for differently abled people.  The “broad themes for development” on their website do not display inclusive development for the disabled population! 

 

We want our city to be great, hassle free but we don’t make any effort for it. We want everything but we don’t want ourselves to do anything. It is the dilemma and it is the curse. Smart cities cannot be constructed without making people smart.