Shopian: After almost two years, traffic jams have returned to Shopian town with rows of vendors back on roads, cars parked haphazardly on roadsides, and Sumo taxi stands operating from almost anywhere they like.
Despite the installation of overhead barricades at different entry points of the town and some months ago a ban on movement of heavy vehicles imposed from 9am to 5pm, logjams are now frequent in several areas like Four-Way Chowk, Jamia Masjid, and Bonbazar.
Danish Ahmad, a villager who runs his business in town, said that it takes him an hour to reach Batpora from Bonbazar in his own vehicle due to traffic jams.
“It takes hours to clear the jam but within a few minutes the situation goes back to what it was earlier,” he said.
Locals and shopkeepers say that the authorities have deputed only a few policemen at Four-Way Chowk but not in other areas like Jamia Masjid and Gol Chowk. They said that the parking of vehicles on roadsides has added to the mess.
Arshid Hussain, a local resident, said that due to the lack of parking space in town, parking vehicles along the road has become a habit of people. “There is not too much traffic flow in the town but when people park vehicles on the road, it automatically leads to logjams since there remains no space even for a motor bike,” he said.
The authorities last year removed roadside vendors from Jamia Masjid area but they have returned to occupy the roads. According to a municipal committee official, vendors have been given space in Batpora but they refuse to go there.
Locals said that the footpaths on the road from Four-Way Chowk to Jamia Masjid have been occupied by shopkeepers who put up their goods there without thinking of pedestrians.
Executive Officer of municipal committee Shopian, Muhammad Ismail told Kashmir Reader that a vehicle for towing illegally parked vehicles is arriving in a couple of days. “We will start towing such parked vehicles. We do shift the vendors but they come back again and again. It needs action from the police but they never do so. We are now taking up this matter with other departments to ensure smooth movement of traffic,” he said.
He added that once the funds for new footpaths would be released, they will be put into place. “There is also need of more traffic policemen in the town area,” Ismail said.

Raashid Hassan