malu kerni
Circular road is one of the busiest roads as many commuters to avoid rush in the old city, mostly take the circular road route, which connects Narwal, Tawi Bridge, Gujjar Nagar, DC Office, Panjtirthi, Sidhra and the National Highway to Srinagar. The stretch from Gujjar Nagar Tawi Bridge to Panjthirthi now has turned into a risk zone with congested roads and vehicles parked on both the sides.
The road was earlier an escape route for commuters from the huge traffic jams but now the scene is different here. Long traffic jams, noisy horns and irregular parking is a common site on this road. Hundreds of commuters are bound to experience these irritating scenes every single day. The single-lane Circular Road from the Deputy Commissioner (DC) office to Panjtirthi, has now been converted to a free-parking zone.
A ride from Gujjar nagar via DC office to Panjthirthi can clear the picture how mannered and civilized we people are while driving and the rest intelligence is depicted in the manner in which these vehicles are parked. Many times, one can find traffic naka near DC office but the men in blue will never question you why you are parking your vehicle here and that too in an irregular manner. One can park anywhere he finds comfortable without giving a second that this haphazard parking would create a mess on the road for others.
Heavy rush of traffic coupled with random parking alongside the road in this area has made the situation messier, with jams extending for hours. The situation turns even worst during morning and evening hours when the road is all packed with cars, school buses, two wheelers and municipal trucks. Everyone is in a hurry to reach at their prior destinations and at that time these irregularly parked vehicles create mess on the road. Loud horns, use of harsh words are a daily scene here as no one is there to keep a check on this.
Daily hundreds of vehicles are parked on the road and the traffic police is not bothered about it till the time any VIP passes through the area. Only at that time, the vehicles are lifted and that too in a random manner and fine is imposed on people for wrong parking. Rest it is a free parking area.
“We have no other option, but to park our vehicles near the DC office, that, too, on our own risk. The city localities are so congested that no vehicle can enter narrow lanes so we are left with no other option .The government has also not provided any place for parking. Moreover, no one has ever objected over the parking,” said Sahil Sharma, a business man of the Jain Bazar area.
When asked if he is aware of the chaos created by this unchecked parking and problems being faced by other commuters, he replied, “I understand that many times there is traffic jam and chaos here due to these irregularly parked vehicles but what to do. We too are helpless. I always take care that my vehicle would not create problem for others but there are many people who may be in hurry or something park their cars irregularly.”
Vishal Gupta, another businessman shared, “We all know there are a few parking lots in city and that too are jam packed. And this is a convenient option for us to park. I understand that this is wrong but what can we do. We have no other option. Yes, I agree that people need to park wisely so that it cannot cause problem for others and many a times I have seen that people park irregularly causing problems for others. This needs to be checked.
I strongly believe that the men in blue should fine such people for wrong parking and should take strict action. Moreover, action needs to be taken against those taxi operators who just to save money park their vehicles here.”
The need of the hour is that the concerned department should look into the needs of Jammu city and providing adequate parking lots. But it is sad that the authorities are busy only with the drafting part and in paper planning and have no plans yet to build any parking lot in the area.
