Illegal encroachments must go

The encroachments on Srinagar roads always remained in the news for adding to the miseries and leading to the traffic chaos frequently. However, for the first time in the last several decades, the administration has started a process to remove the illegal encroachments from the roadside, especially outside the shops, where the shop owners had illegally encroached the roadside by constructing stairs for their shops. A video has surfaced on social media, in which the administration could be seen pressing the machinery to remove the encroachments. In a memorable decision, the administration in the night hours, were seen working to remove the encroachments for the wellbeing of the people. Recently, the administration has said that it will leave no stone unturned to ensure smooth passage to the vehicular movement, especially ambulances, who ferry the critically ill patients to tertiary care hospitals of Srinagar. The video of Regal Chowk has gone viral, but it is expected that all those who have illegally encroached the roadsides are removed at earliest so that the traffic mess is lessened on the ground. Moreover, there is a need to remove the vendors too from the roadsides and also ensure no illegal car parking to bring a change on the ground. Besides the government, the people should also help in bringing the change and mitigating the sufferings of commuters on roads. The time has come to put an end to the blame games. The administration and people have the responsibility to bring a civic sense to ensure change on the ground.