SRINAGAR: Residents of Habba Kadal on Tuesday held a protest here and demanded removal of the concertina wire from the old Habba Kadal Bridge,saying it obstructs traffic and public movement since it was installed on August 5.
Theyassembled near old bridge Habba Kadal and chanted slogans “open the bridge for the traffic movement”, “remove the wires from the old Habba Kadal bridge” and “we want justice”.
Nissar Ahmad, one of the shopkeeper from Habba Kadal said that they don’tknow why the bridge is closed since August 5, 2019.
“Our business has been affected due to the closure of the bridge from last 6 months. We have already approached the concerned officials regarding this issue, but nothing has been done so far,” he said.
He said that due to the closure of the bridge, no one is visitingtheir shops as the people do not prefer to take the long route.
“The old bridge at Habba Kadal is one of the old bridge in the city and connects civil lines areas to the Downtown areas of the Srinagar”, said Mohammad Maqbool, resident of Habba Kadal.
He said that the bridge connects the hospitals, schools, shops, Divisional Commissioner office and DC office. “People, school children, patients have to take another route to reached their destinations,” he added.
Bashir Ahmad, a local said that due to the closure of the bridge, they are facing a lot of difficulties on daily basis.
“We have already approached the concerned officials regarding this problem, but the wires were not lifted from the bridge,” he said.
The protesting residents said that not only the people of Habba Kadal are facing difficultiesbut the people from other areas are also affected.
They requested Lt Governor to look into the matter to lessen their woes.
Deputy commissioner Srinagar, Shahid Chowdary told Kashmir Reader that the issue of old Habba Kadal bridge has been brought to his notice.
“The issues faced by locals will be resolved. The unauthorized parking upon the old bridge has also remained a serious concern for which public cooperation is needed,” Chowdary said.

ARIF RASHID