Snow clearance found wanting again in Shopian

Snow clearance found wanting again in Shopian

Shopian: The district administration in Shopian has once again miserably failed to properly clear the snow from roads which has caused immense problems to people in general as well as to transporters who are unable to ply their vehicles on the icy roads.
Locals from main town Shopian told Kashmir Reader that snow from none of the main roads or interior links has been properly removed by the authorities. They said that the snow clearance operation started late in the day and by then the snow was frozen.
Rows of people including students, patients and office goers were seen walking as most of the public transport was off the roads due to slippery condition of the roads.
“For six kilometers around the district headquarters, almost a foot of snow has been left uncleared,” said Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, a daily commuter.
Shahid Ahmad, a student, said that snow clearance machines were now making rounds on roads but they were not capable of removing ice from the roads. “Since the last snowfall we have had to walk to reach our coaching centres. Cabs are difficult to find and at other times they are simply not able to run due to the icy and slippery condition of roads,” he said.
Office-going people had similar complaints. A veterinary doctor told Kashmir Reader that he spent the whole day in reaching office and then returning home on foot, with only an hour left to do his office work.
Shopian district has eight snow clearance machines and only one snow cutter. The number of machines and their capacity is too less given the depth of snow the district usually receives, especially in the hilly areas.
It is pertinent to mention that the administration had failed to clear the snow even at the beginning of this month when the region received heavy snowfall.
A senior official from the Mechanical Engineering department did not respond to phone calls from this reporter.

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