Srinagar, Apr 24: Commuters are facing a tough time due to non-functional traffic lights at important junctions of the city.
The non-operational traffic lights across the city have resulted in severe traffic congestion, adding to the daily woes of residents and visitors alike.
Despite being hailed as a solution to improve traffic flow, the Smart Traffic Management system has fallen short of expectations.
“It’s a daily struggle without functioning traffic lights. Years were wasted installing this new system, and it’s only made things worse,” said Zahid Ahmad, a commuter.
The situation has been further compounded by the numerous diversions in place due to ongoing construction and development projects.
“With so many diversions in place, we had hoped that the Smart Traffic lights would alleviate the situation, but unfortunately, that has not been the case. The traffic flow is severely hampered, and commuters are left confused amidst the defunct traffic lights,” said Arshad Lone, another commuter.
Commuters have voiced their frustration over the manual management of traffic at most junctions, despite the installation of Smart traffic lights. “Traffic jams in Srinagar have become a norm, and the non-functioning traffic lights are a significant contributing factor,” said Aliya, echoing the sentiments of many residents.
Adding to the woes, the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), another component of the Smart City project, is also not functional.
Authorities had earlier claimed that the ITMS would utilise information technology to modernise key functions of traffic management, traffic control, traffic law enforcement, and traffic information dissemination in the city, with the goal of building a safer city with smooth traffic flow.
SSP Traffic (City), Muzaffar Ahmad Shah, told Greater Kashmir that efforts are underway to address the issues.
“It has been broadly resolved. Once annual maintenance is completed, we have approval in principle to address all outstanding issues. Hopefully, within the next two months, this will be permanently resolved,” he assured.