The tourism season is going on with great enthusiasm. We see tourists milling in and out of Mughal gardens in Srinagar, in Pahalgam, in the highland resort of Gulmarg and in the lush meadows of Sonmarg. This is a great sight to behold and one must always thank the current administration for creating feasible infrastructure and atmosphere to this end. This is indeed a great achievement in itself.
However, a few videos shared on the social media raise some concerns as well. In one video one of the online user posts a scene of unmanageable traffic jam near Nishat garden on the boulevard road. The scene looked like that of a crowded market in Delhi or Mumbai. With that much tourism footfall it is imperative there would be commercial vehicles. This coupled with the increasing number of single occupied cars of locals makes up for some of the worst traffic jams that the city has ever seen .
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It must be borne in mind that the current population of Srinagar city is touching about two million souls. Besides, people across different sections of society from the countryside visit Srinagar for short intervals for various works. This fleeting population of students seeking private tuition, relatives visiting patients in hospitals, government employees working in central government offices in Srinagar is adding to the traffic jams.
The introduction of a metro train in Srinagar city can be one effective way of curbing the menace of traffic jams. River transport can also be another viable solution.
The main focus of the current administration should be to ramp up the infrastructure as the tourists are coming by the millions. As more and more tourists come the challenge to provide the city with efficient infrastructure would also grow stronger. The current administration needs to think of this on extremely serious term. Traffic jams at places like Nishat garden, Pahalgam or Gulmarg are signs of an infrastructure which is overburdened, tired and ageing.
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