By Ovais Gull
Srinagar: Barely eight days before the shifting of move offices from winter capital to State’s summer capital, authorities here have started decorating the roads and bridges here just to appease the Babus, leaving local dwellers aggrieved.
The development comes at a time when the locals accuse the officials of depriving them from the basic amenities including proper roads and other things, which continues to leave the Srinagar inhabitants to lurch at large.
The authorities have started decorating the roads with flower vases, painting roads and other things just before eight days of opening of move offices in Kashmir. This trend as per elderly locals has been going on since decades now. “It would have been better in case the steps would have been taken to ensure proper macadamized roads and other basic facilities for us,” locals told ‘The INS’.
The number of non-local and local painters and labors could be seen on the main roads leading towards Civil Secretariat Srinagar painting and macadamizing the roads ahead of the Darbar move. Many of the potholes on the road being witnessed from last many months were repaired on Monday. However, the work was today stopped in view of the rainfall.
It seems that decorating the roads is important for the administration than taking steps for the well-being for the local populace.
The local residents said that it would have been better in case the authorities could have erected the sign boards and painting the speed breakers and Zebra crossing for the facilitation of the pedestrians and the commuters as lack of such facility on roads has increased the number of accidents here.
The experts also believe that non-painting of speed breakers, Zebra crossing and lack of sign boards on the roads is one among the main cause of frequent accidents.
Instead of wasting the money on decorating the roads to appease the officials, the authorities should have taken steps for the well-being of common people, the local residents said.
“It has been a long time since the speed breakers in the Valley have not been painted while the sign boards ahead of schools, hospital and other main institutes have also been ignored. Thus, simultaneously resulted in the accidents on these spots,” the commuters added.
They also said ignoring the main things has become a usual practice now in the Valley. “Fining commuters for violating the traffic norms is genuine but why the negligence of the authorities is being ignored,” they added.
An official, wishing anonymity however said that the directions were passed by the higher ups in this regard, therefore the painting of roads and macadamizing process has taken place in the commercial Hub Lal Chowk area.
