Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Jul 15: Despite ongoing initiatives to enhance road safety and ensure public security, Srinagar continues to face challenges due to malfunctioning traffic signals across the city.
Officials from Traffic Police Kashmir, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) Kashmir, and other agencies have been active on the roads for an extended period. However, the problem of non-functional traffic lights remains unresolved, even after the costly installation of a smart traffic management system last year.
Residents from various parts of Srinagar, expressed frustrations, saying outdated and broken traffic signal infrastructure hampers smooth traffic flow.
Many localities, including Barabar Shah, said traffic lights are either entirely out of order or only intermittently functioning. “The traffic lights in Srinagar are not working at several places. In Barabar Shah, they are completely out of order; sometimes blinking, sometimes not working at all,” said a local resident.
Similar issues are reported in both the uptown and downtown areas, with many signals either non-operational or only partially functional. Some signals lack countdown timers, and in several places, basic signals are missing altogether.
A commuter, Aamir, said that despite the installation of the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), many signals display all three colours simultaneously or do not work at all. “We hoped the new system would improve traffic flow, but it’s still manual regulation by traffic police in 2025,” he added.
On July 14, SSP Traffic Srinagar Ajaz Ahmad Bhat led a helmet distribution campaign across the city, distributing helmets and informative pamphlets to two-wheeler riders to promote safety.
The first traffic light in Srinagar was installed in Karan Nagar in 2012. Initially seen as a step toward modernisation, these signals soon contributed to chaos, causing traffic jams and confusion. Despite several upgrades and promises, including the recent ITMS, the situation remains largely unchanged, and citizens remain sceptical about the effectiveness of past projects aimed at modernising traffic regulation.
“The government spent public funds, awarded tenders, but what have we gained? We’re still stuck in long jams because the basics aren’t fixed,” lamented Ghulam Rasool, a retired government employee.
According to reports, traffic police statistics for 2024 show that 57 people lost their lives in road accidents in Srinagar alone. Across Jammu & Kashmir, the first ten months of 2024 saw 703 fatalities and 6,820 injuries in nearly 5,000 accidents.
