The Srinagar city is under a massive overhaul. Multiple departments can be seen working across dozens of places. Roads are dug, drains are being executed.
Cables are being laid underground and the traffic is diverted prolonging the journey of commuters. The normal journey that would take a few minutes is now finished into hours.
The heart of city Lal Chowk which is also under overhaul presents a ghost look. It is almost covered under the tin sheets and behind these tin sheets the men are at work.
These scenes can be spotted everywhere in Srinagar nowadays. Even the footpaths are being redeveloped. Jehlum banks are redesigned. What is worth appreciating, the footpaths for pedestrians are cleared from encroachment at most of the places.
The Batamaloo that was almost under the occupation of vendors also seems cleared. Roads are free to move with no encroachments.
But what is posing a severe challenge for the business community, and also hitting the tourists who face lots of hardships in travelling across the places is the blockade of roads.
We are in spring and it is the beginning of the tourism season. As summer sets in, the flow of tourists is also expected to be very high. In the last several years, the tourist footfalls have already been increasing with every passing month and year.
While on one side Srinagar under a mega smart city plan is being facelifted with expanded infrastructure, on the other side it is temporarily causing huge inconvenience to common people. But the SMC under whose observation, these developmental activities take place deserves appreciation. It is for the first time the work is being undertaken in double shifts.
It gives a hope that the sufferings and troubles people face seem temporary and may end soon provided the SMC doesn’t lose its enthusiasm.
