The bumpy road network
The summer season has arrived and with the arrival of summer season the government has announced the opening of tourism season. Though, the valley is not witnessing a good number of arrivals at this time but the government on its part has already opened up the world famous tulip garden and is well preparing for other destinations to be ready for welcoming the tourists to the ‘paradise on earth’.
However, one concern which is shared by every person either connected to the tourism or other trades, or even a common man is the bad infrastructure that is ruining the prospects of tourism or any other trade in the valley.
One important component of the bad infrastructure is the bad roads that have become quite synonymous with the Kashmir region. The bad experience which one gets of the roads in Kashmir starts right after leaving the Jammu region and entering Kashmir through the arterial Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.
The condition of this road is so pathetic that it has become a driver’s nightmare to transverse through it. The road which should have otherwise been an eight hour long journey from Udhampur to Srinagar is taking almost two days for commuters to travel on it.
The eventuality that one may end up getting stranded on the highway is too great as the frequent landslides and slipping of the road at many places has become unavoidable owing to the bad maintenance of the all important highway.
The highway troubles notwithstanding, Kashmir region is faced with a crisis like situation as most of the road ways within the valley too are in a dilapidated conditions and despite the fact that summer season has already set in, the administration is caught in deep slumber.
No measures are ensured so that the upkeep of vital roads would have been started and the travelers could have witnessed some ease.
The condition of the roads in the valley is so pathetic that trade body, Kashmir Economic Alliance has castigated the government for letting the economy suffer badly owing to the bad roads.
The trade body has alleged that the bad roads are not only hampering normal life but they are also affecting business activities as the roads along market places are in such a bad shape that customers avoid visiting even the City center LalChowk and Residency Road.
The poor condition of roads has also created traffic mess and thus customers avoid visiting markets because it takes hours to cover distances which would otherwise be covered in minutes.
Apart from the bad roads that have increased in number due to the harsh winter this year, the ongoing developmental projects too are contributing their bit.
The ongoing construction of various projects including flyovers and overhead bridges, has led to a situation which have caused severe damages to the adjacent roads creating a messy situation for all.
KV Network
