Sajidah Yousuf
Srinagar, Dec 24: In Srinagar city, around 70 percent of cabs and other passenger vehicles have been off the roads since long adding to the woes of travellers.
According to the official figures accessed, only 20-30 percent of the passenger vehicles plying on Srinagar roads are being operated by the private agencies.
“Only 20-30 percent of Sumos and passenger vehicles are being operated by the private transport agencies while 60-70 percent of such traffic are wanderers,” it reads.
Meanwhile, some of the daily commuters said that, most of the times; they either have to wait for hours to get the passenger vehicle or have to hire the Auto-Rickshaw who charge a hefty amount for a small distance.
One of the commuters of Saida-Kadal area of Srinagar, Irshad Ahmad Mir said, “I work as a sales person in Lal Chowk Srinagar and I usually leave at 5 Pm every day. Unfortunately, every-day, I either have to hire an Auto-Rickshaw or have to ask for a lift.”
“The traffic off the roads has turned to be a nightmare for the daily commuters and it seems the concerned authorities are least interested in solving the issues of the general public,” Mir said.
Besides, the students who go for the private tuitions also said that in the late evening hours, local transport is not easily available and they have to wait for hours in this bone chilling cold.
One of the students said, “We usually reach home late in the evening as local transport is off the roads. Students are the worst sufferers in this cold weather.”
The students further said that at some private coaching institutes, the class work usually culminates at 5Pm and they reach home very late due to the non-availability of public transport.
