Achieving real motives

Under the much-hyped Smart City projects, Srinagar witnessed redesigning of roads as well as the footpaths by spending a huge amount to give a new look and ensure the developmental changes on the ground. However, these footpaths rarely remain available for the pedestrians to walk on as the spaces are being illegally occupied by the street vendors, causing immense hardships to the people. One fails to understand the reasons behind the construction or redesigning of these footpaths when these spaces would have to remain unavailable for the public. The people question the utilization of huge public exchequer on these projects when the spaces were not meant for the public use. The use of public exchequer should not go waste at any cost by allowing the illegal occupants to occupy the roadside as the facility should be completely meant for the public and be ensured that no illegal occupant occupies it for personal use. The illegal occupation of the footpaths has the potential to lead to the fatal tragedies on the roads as the pedestrians are being forced to walk through the busiest roads, leaving less space for the commuters to traverse on. It is high time for the concerned agencies to ensure that the illegal occupants are removed forthwith and shifted to the suitable places so that the pedestrians would get a free way to walk and reach their destinations, which will also ensure their safety as well. A massive drive in this regard is needed to take apt measures so that the fatal tragedy on the road is prevented and also the motive behind the redesigning of footpaths under Smart City project is achieved.