Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Mar 13: Thousands of devotees thronged the revered Hazratbal Shrine on Friday for Jumat-ul-Vida prayers, prompting authorities to press special buses into service to facilitate their movement, even as the massive rush led to heavy traffic congestion on several routes across the city.
Officials said that around 22 buses of the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) and 25 buses operated by Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL) were deployed to ferry devotees from different parts of Srinagar to Hazratbal and back.
Despite the transport arrangements and traffic diversions put in place by authorities, several roads leading to Hazratbal and adjoining areas witnessed heavy congestion as thousands of people converged on the shrine.
Devotees said the roads remained choked for long periods due to the overwhelming rush of vehicles and pedestrians.
“We remained stuck in traffic for quite some time before and after the prayers and eventually had to walk as the roads were completely packed,” said Nazir Ahmad, a devotee who had come to offer prayers at Hazratbal.
Several others also reported similar experiences, saying that movement of vehicles became extremely slow due to the large number of devotees returning from the shrine at the same time.
“There was a huge rush of people and vehicles on the roads. While the buses helped many reach the shrine, the traffic situation became difficult to manage once the prayers concluded,” another devotee said.
Notably, traffic personnel were deployed at various junctions to regulate the movement of vehicles, while authorities maintained that special arrangements, including additional buses and diversions, were made to ensure devotees could attend the prayers without major inconvenience.
However, the large gathering led to traffic bottlenecks at several points around the shrine and adjoining localities, locals and eyewitnesses said.
