Authorities, traders & locals meet to discuss removal of road divider

Sopore, Oct 11: The presence of a road divider in the main market of Sopore town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district has become a significant concern for traders and residents.
Despite multiple appeals to the local administration, no action has been taken to date, causing mounting frustrations, they said.
In this regard, a joint meeting was convened on Wednesday, which was attended by representatives from the administration, police officials, public figures, business leaders, and civic bodies. The primary objective was to assess the challenges faced by traders and citizens due to this road divider, which has had a detrimental impact on local businesses.
The key figures in the meeting included President of Municipal Council Sopore, Musarat Rasool Kar, Additional Deputy Commissioner S A Raina, Chief Executive Officer of Municipal Council Sopore, Vice President of Municipal Council, Councillors, Tehsildar Sopore, SHO Sopore, and ARTO Baramulla. A delegation from the Traders Federation, led by President Haji Muhammad Ashraf Ganai, along with representatives from affected areas, also attended the discussion.
During the meeting, President of the Traders Federation, Mohammad Ashraf, highlighted the severe impact of the road divider on local businesses, leading to a virtual standstill of commercial activities. He said despite their persistent efforts to bring the issue to the authorities’ attention, no action has been taken.
“This has led to growing frustration among the traders as well as locals,” he said.
The residents from the affected locality also expressed concerns about the increased risk of accidents due to the diversion of vehicles through residential streets. They urged the authorities to promptly address this matter.
President MC Sopore, Musarat Rasool Kar, underscored the importance of prioritising citizen welfare in every administrative action. She said measures causing inconvenience to the public should be avoided.
Both Musarat Kar and ADC Raina assured that immediate steps would be taken to find an effective solution to the road divider issue.