Bijbehara: The Bijbehara stretch along the old national highway is in dire need of widening, but the administration has instead banned parking along the road even as there is an acute dearth of parking space in the town.
Traffic congestion persists in towns which were bypassed when the new NH-44 was constructed, and is even more so in Bijbehara town of Anantnag district. “All Srinagar-bound vehicles from different parts of Anantnag and Kulgam district still prefer this route. Besides, most of the Jammu-bound traffic also goes through Bijbehara, making the old national highway choked with traffic every day,” the locals told Kashmir Reader.
They said that during peak hours it becomes an absolute nightmare for everyone, including ambulances plying from Anantnag towards Srinagar. “Ambulances from Bijbehara to Anantnag continue to remain the worst hit,” the locals said.
The administration acknowledges the mess but has come up with a “superficial” remedy that might ease the traffic mess but will surely put many to severe inconvenience.
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate Bijbehara recently came up with an order banning all kinds of parking on both sides of the road. “And to further ease the traffic, heavy vehicles will not be allowed to ply through the town between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM,” the order, of which Kashmir Reader has a copy, reads.
The locals are aghast at the order, citing the lack of parking space in the town. “The ban on movement of heavy vehicles was fine but there is absolutely no parking space in the town. Where are we supposed to leave our vehicles?” the locals asked.
Kashmir Reader talked to the SDM, Muhammad Jahangir Khanday, who said that the administration is working on multiple fronts to ease the traffic congestion. “We have sought the help of the R&B department and they are conducting a survey to put dividers on the road,” Khanday said.
He added that a patch of space has been identified for parking in the local Sumo taxi stand and that will ease the parking issues. “Apart from that, land has also been identified for hawkers and they will be shifted,” he said.
The locals are not satisfied with this. “The parking slot they have demarcated is more than two kilometers from the town. The place identified for hawkers has the same issues. These superficial remedies will have no bearing until the road is widened,” the locals complained.
The widening of the road, however, is not on the administration’s to-do list for now. Joint Director Planning, Roads and Buildings Department, Sheikh Shavaiz recently told Kashmir Reader that there are no plans whatsoever of widening the old NH.
“Nothing I know of so far suggests that any such activity will be carried out,” he had said.

Suhail A Shah