Improve Public Transport

With each passing day Srinagar is growing in terms of human population and vehicles on the road. This has put enormous pressure on the still developing transport system of the UT.  Technologies which are becoming thing of the past in other cities are yet to take off here. The public transport system in Srinagar is going from bad to worse with overcrowded, slow, uncoordinated and dangerous buses plying on the ever shrinking roads of the city. Everyday reports of traffic snarls and road accidents portray a grim picture about the traffic system. It is strange that the city, which boasts of having world famous heritage sites, is reeling under continuous traffic congestion. The lacuna is being filled by the unregulated private sector which apparently is not bound by any government directive. Private cabs are plying throughout the city. They run on almost all routes without any checks being made viz-a-viz the safety of the commuters as overloading has become a norm with them. This puts the life of people at risk. Government must look seriously into this otherwise as the system grows, so will the suffering of common people. Government must ensure that buses ply on all possible routes, a step that will ensure lesser pollution and affordability to commuters. Traffic department should also need to curb frequent stopping and slow pace of public transport. The UT should take a cue from other states while putting efficient traffic management system in place and that will help in reducing the congestion on roads and will also ensure hassle free driving experience. Over the years, the traffic has increased manifold due to the rapid use of private transport and other automobiles. The future trends indicate that traffic woes will continue to get worse in the near future posing a serious and worsening problem. Earlier we used to have only a few spots where vehicular movement would get extremely slow, but now new points of horrible traffic jams are surfacing up in the valley, especially in the Srinagar city. There are hardly any chances of driving on the city roads without getting stuck in a traffic jam. There is a dire need to restructure the traffic mechanism and to relieve the people from the daily torment which they have to undergo due to heavy traffic jams and disruptions. The traffic department needs to act wisely and judiciously. Efficient public transport system has become inevitable in order to reduce traffic congestion on roads.