The Adnam Sami musical concert might have delighted the VIPs but for common people, it brought immense miseries due to sealing of the Boulevard on Saturday. Adnan Sami Saturday performed at the SKICC. In view of the event, the entire Boulevard was sealed from Saturday afternoon, causing inconvenience to the common people and the tourist alike. Few days ago, the government issued a notification that Boulevard would be out of bounds for the people except for the VVIPs and the invitees who would come to watch the show. People from Brein, Nishat, Ishbar, Shalimar and Harwan areas faced problems due to closing of the Boulevard which houses dozens of hotels and guest houses. Due to closure of the area, the tourists had to confine themselves inside the hotels. Hundreds of tourists and local commuters were stranded for hours in traffic jam due to blockade of the roads. There was heavy traffic jam from Dal Gate and on Foreshore Road, where the vehicles bound to Nishat Shalimar were diverted.
The Boulevard is leading to various Mughal gardens, where every day, thousands of locals and tourists paid their visit. However, the locals and tourists could not make it to their destinations. Hundreds of tourists also returned back disappointed without visiting the gardens. “We could not go to see the Mughal gardens due to sealing of the Boulevard,” Aman, a tourist from New Delhi said. The sealing of Boulevard also affected the wedding ceremonies. “Our guest could not come today due to sealing of Boulevard. We have been preparing for the marriage ceremony of my daughter for the past three-months and have invited all the guests for the same. But the closure of the area dashed our preparations and celebrations of the marriage function,” said Mohammad Ayub, a resident of Nishat. “We had made all the preparations but very less guests were able to reach here,” he said. Ayub is not only the alone, whose daughter was scheduled to get married on Saturday in the same area and the guests had to come through Boulevard. Ghulam Mohiuddin, a resident of Ishbar said that it is being seen nowhere when road is being sealed for the musical concert. “Such events instead doing any good create inconveniences to the common people.” Mohammad Shafi, a hotel owner said that the restrictions brought inconveniences to the locals and the tourists alike. “It disturbs the economy of Kashmir, resulting in huge losses to the business community,” he added. Tight security arrangements were also made in the Dal Lake, where security personnel patrolled the lake in shikaras and motorboats. “The Dal Lake was sealed today.,” Abdul Hamid, who lives in Dal Lake said. Boulevard also houses Mughal gardens, which would witness huge rush of tourists. “A small number of tourists visited the gardens on Saturday in the morning hours,” Hamid said.