Horn Please!

TRAFFIC Jams have become a new reality of life in Srinagar. Day in and day out, hundreds of vehicles are stuck in jams and lurch forward to reach their destinations. Unfortunately, it takes hours before these jams are cleared and even essential service(s) vehicles, such as Ambulances, navigate with great difficulty through them. Therefore, steps must be taken to reduce the occurrence of jams in the city.

Before taking any steps, the authorities need to identify the potential causes of traffic jams in the city. It needs to be acknowledged that the number of vehicles entering the city is increasing as more and more people are purchasing them. However, the roads have not been widened or reconstructed to withhold such a volume of traffic. At several crossings, traffic lights are not functional, which leads to great chaos. In the city centre, Lal Chowk, there are very few parking slots. On a busy day, people who are unable to find parking slots park their cars on roads running through Lal Chowk, thus, leading to jams. Nevertheless, the public should also be held accountable for these jams. People often drive vehicles on the wrong side of the road, overtake in a rush, which leads to traffic jams in the city.

To reduce traffic jams, both the authorities and the public have a role to play. The authorities need to take into account the causes of jams, devise a plan and accordingly implement it. On the other hand, the public needs to understand that certain rules are necessary to follow while driving, and if they follow them, there may be fewer jams in the city.