Srinagar, Mar 16: The commuters in Srinagar city are having a tough time as the Roads and Buildings (R&B) department has failed to carry out necessary repairs of the roads.
Even the major roads such as Batmaloo-Qamarwari, Jehangir Chowh-Soura, and Lal Chowk-Hazratbal, roads are in a dilapidated state.
Not long after a massive macadamisation drive was carried out in 2015 and 2016, roads in Srinagar continue to be in a dilapidated state.
The authorities had claimed that macadamisation met the international standards.
In Srinagar city, potholed roads are a common sight, even at critical spots like Jehangir Chowk, Ram Bagh, and Batmaloo, causing a lot of inconvenience to the people.
“What is the fun of macadamising when it (macadam) doesn’t last long? The authorities should take into account the hardships suffered by the commuters,” Habib uallha commuter at Jehangir Chowk told this KNS reporter.
Commuters told KNS that in absence of repairs, most of the roads in the city are dotted with potholes. The roads in Jehangir Chowk, Ram Bagh Flyover Road, Tourist Reception Center, Radio Kashmir, Ram Munshi Bagh, Sonwar, Batwara, Rangreth, Rawalpora, Sanatnagar, Mehjoor Nagar, Jawahar Nagar and MA Road are dotted with potholes.
“The non-seriousness of the authorities can be gauged by the fact that the road leading towards Valley’s lone tertiary care hospital, SKIMS Soura is in shambles. This poses risk to lives of patients who are referred there from other hospitals,” said Hilal Ahmad, a resident of Soura.
The road stretch from Lalchock to Qamarwari is dotted with potholes.
“The road link was repaired last year, however there were certain stretches which were left unattended. Now those unrepaired portions have turned into craters posing risk of accidents to the commuters,” Shabir Ahmad said.
“It is a nightmare for me to drive my car through this dilapidated road, but I have no option,” Shabir added.
The Srinagar-Jammu highway, which is maintained by Beacon, is also in shambles. At Pandrethan the highway has developed one foot deep potholes and craters. Near Pantha Chowk, work on drainage construction has compounded the problem.
At Athwajan, slight rain submerges the road. “The road is vital link, but it does not get any attention from the authorities,” Ghulam Nabi, a resident of Athwajan said.
People in Shaher-e-Khaas also expressed resentment over dilapidated roads. “We are suffering as major repairs or macadamisation has been carried since 2010,” said Muhammad sohail, a resident of Hawal.
(KNS)