Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar on Friday voiced concern over the unavailability of reliable public transport in district Srinagar, saying the executive apathy has made the situation worse.
Sagar stated this after meeting scores of public delegations, and transporters, who had called on him here at the party head quarters Nawa-e-Subha, Srinagar. The visiting public delegations brought the unavailability and shortage of public transport in Srinagar district to his notice.
The visiting delegations comprising of young, elderly and students apprised the general secretary about the ordeal, the commuters in Shahar-e-Khas, Uptown areas and Srinagar suburbs have to go through in wake of scant public transport.
They complained about lack of reliable public transport, which they said goes off the roads in the evenings.
The visiting delegations told the general secretary that the problem has gone from bad to worse in Sanat Nagar, Rambagh, Jawahar Nagar, Abdullah Bridge, Soura, Sonwar, Batwara and Dalgate, Gogjibagh, Bemina, Harwan, Bren, Ilahi Bagh, Soitaing, Budshah Nagar, Noorbagh and its adjacent areas.
Interacting with the visiting delegations, Sagar said, “It must be very taxing for our elderly persons, mothers, sisters, students to wait for hours to get ferried to their destinations. Let alone the despair that the city roads are fraught with, it is tormenting to hear about the ordeals that the commuters are going through on an daily basis. The unreliability of public transport raises questions over the functioning of authorities.”
On the occasion, the visiting delegations maintained that most of the complaints pertain to private transport who refuse to ply in the evening.
Later a visiting delegation of transporters apprised the general secretary about the unjustified seizure of vehicles by the traffic authorities.
The agitated sumo drivers taking exception over the seizure of vehicles said that authorities have been seizing their vehicles for entering the city centre.
Regarding the route plan, the visiting delegations said that route plans are being drafted on arbitrary lines and that everyday changes in the route plans aren’t being publicized.
Sagar assured them that the party will take up the issues at all appropriate forums. He expressed concern over the apathetic attitude of the concerned departments of traffic, RTO and SMC for failing to ensure swift movement of public transport in the district Srinagar. He urged the divisional administration to take notice of the predicaments suffered by the commuters and ensure availability of public transport comprising of buses, metadors and sumos on all major and minor arterials of Shahar-e-Khas, Uptown and suburban areas.
