Maalu Sharma
The noise of vehicles at Bikram Chowk had always defined life for those who lived and worked near Jammu’s busiest intersection. This pedestrian underpass, when built with grand intentions, had suffered a slow decline into a damp, dimly lit passage citizens quickly learned to fear and avoid.
This morning, however, the Chowk’s soundtrack had a counter-melody: the sound of hopeful footsteps at the subway.
The revival of subway brings relief to commuters. Shreya, a college girl and one of those who earlier played ‘Frogger’ twice a day, crossing the deadly junction to get to her stop, was the one first to get to the subway. As she went down the stale air had vanished and was replaced by a cool, antiseptic efficiency of modern ventilation. But the sense of safety wasn’t only aesthetic; it was structural. Perched above the entrance and every fifty feet down the long curve were sleek, black domes of the new CCTV surveillance system. For female commuters, who had always worried about harassment in the old, dark corners, the CCTV cameras are the strongest deterrent.
“Before, this was a place you ran through,” said Sunita Sharma, a retired bank employee and an evening walker. Now we could confidently use the passage for access to the other side. She added, “Now, it is a path you walk with confidence. The lights show us the way, and the cameras ensure we are watched over. It is the perfect coordination of civic convenience and security.”
The real testimony was from the vendors operating in the area. Ramesh, who sell fruits near the Chowk for decades, shared, “Earlier, customers would risk their life for a five-minute errand. The underpass was a ghost town. But now, the flow is smooth, constant, and safe.”
Locals appreciate that the authorities didn’t just clean it; they put technology in place to protect it for the future. The reopening of the Vikram Chowk underpass turned a liability into an asset, finally allowing the people of Jammu to walk beneath the chaos with confidence and security.
