Six years on, bus stand Tral shopkeepers still await rehabilitation
Demand immediate start of shopping complex
Pulwama: Nearly six years after their shops were demolished at the bus stand in Tral town of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district dozens of affected shopkeepers continue to wait for rehabilitation, accusing the authorities of failing to translate repeated assurances into action.
The shopkeepers have now renewed their demand for the immediate commencement of work on the proposed government shopping complex in Tral.
In March 2020, the local administration demolished around 53 shops in Tral’s main market area, stating that the structures had been built on state land. The move had triggered protests from the affected traders, who demanded rehabilitation before or alongside the demolition. At the time, the administration assured them that they would be accommodated in a government-constructed shopping complex.
However, the shopkeepers say that despite the passage of more than six years, not even the basic work on the promised complex has begun.
“Since the day our shops were demolished, we have been running from pillar to post,” said Shabir Ahmad, one of the affected shopkeepers. “The administration had assured us that we would be rehabilitated through a government shopping complex. We believed them, but even after all these years, there is nothing on the ground.”
The traders said their shops were their sole source of income and that the demolition has pushed many families into financial distress.
“We were completely dependent on these shops, which many of us had been running for decades,” another shopkeeper said. “After the demolition, our livelihood was snatched away. Today, many of us are on the verge of starvation.”
Several shopkeepers said they had taken loans to manage household expenses and educate their children, hoping that the promised rehabilitation would materialise soon.
“Many among us are unable to repay the loans we took over the past few years,” a trader said. “Every time we approach officials or political representatives, we are told that work will start ‘soon’. But ‘soon’ has stretched into years,” he adds.
Expressing frustration over what they termed as “official apathy,” the shopkeepers said repeated meetings with officials, elected representatives and local leaders have yielded nothing beyond verbal assurances.
“It feels like we will have to wait for decades to get our shops,” one shopkeeper remarked. “Even after five to six years, there is no sign of construction. This is nothing short of injustice.”
The aggrieved traders have appealed to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Deputy Commissioner Pulwama to personally intervene and ensure that the rehabilitation project is taken up without further delay.
“We request the highest authorities to look into our plight,” they said. “We have already suffered enough. The government must honour its commitment.”
Meanwhile, an official from the district administration said that funds have been sanctioned for the project.
“An amount of around Rs 5 crore has been approved for the construction of 53 shops under the government shopping complex. The work is expected to start very soon,” the official said.
