Rain pours misery on city roads

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 11

With the city receiving its first rain of the season, all major roads remained chock-a-block throughout the day today.

Intermittent rains lashed the winter capital since last night.

The city has already been facing traffic chaos since the time of Durbar move, following which the traffic flow has increased by 40 per cent. The marriage season has also added to the woes of the commuters with roads such as Canal Road, Janipur-New Plot Road and Talab Tillo Road remaining stuck up to five hours in the evening.

“A few days ago, my family had to attend a wedding on Canal Road. The barat left Muthi area at 8 pm and reached Paloura at 11.15 pm, for which the difference in just 1 km. Finally, we took a U-turn from the BSF bridge and returned home,” said Ankush Sharma, a resident of Muthi.

“There are dozens of banquet halls on Canal Road, which do not have sufficient parking space. During the wedding season, it becomes difficult even for an ambulance to cross the area,” he added.

Commuters alleged that the traffic police work for VIPs only as they only clear the road for their vehicles during a traffic jam.

The traffic police, however, blamed narrow roads, increased number of vehicles, less parking space and violations by the commuters for the chaos.

“Today’s traffic jams were because of the continuous rain as most people preferred travelling on their four-wheelers. However, we tried our best to make it a smooth experience for the commuters,” said Nisha Nathyal, SSP (Traffic), Jammu.

“The narrow roads of the city are already overburdened with traffic. Nowadays, commuters are facing hardships due to the wedding season, but our policemen are working till midnight to clear the traffic for their convenience. There are some issues with many roads, for which we have repeatedly requested the administration to take action,” she added.