To prevent gridlocks, Traffic Police recommend change in school timings

‘Parents should cooperate in using alternative routes’

Mubashir Khan

Syed Rizwan Geelani

Srinagar: The Traffic Police department has recommended to the School Education Department (SED) to change the timing of schools falling within the city limits to ease the traffic congestion.

The department has recommended the new school timing from 9am to 2pm in view of the narrow condition of the roads within the city centre.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic (City) Muzaffar Ahmad Shah said he has requested the education department that school timing should be changed for the convenience of school children.

"The condition of the roads is very bad as the construction work is going on everywhere. Even if we keep some diversions, people will still get stuck in traffic jams," he said.

These days, the whole city centre remains congested with the traffic given the work going on in the city centre.

Major roads in Srinagar have been dug up. From the city centre in Lal Chowk to Boulevard and other areas, men and machinery are at work in connection with construction going on under the Smart City Project, awarded to Srinagar in 2017. These projects have June 2023 as the deadline.

As the work is going on in full swing everywhere, it is expected that the city is likely to be jammed for some months throwing a major challenge to regulate the traffic movement within the city.

Meanwhile, the SSP Traffic (City) has asked the schools located within the city centre to approach parents with a request to use the Rajbagh area for the pick and drop of their kids.

"I have put a request to the schools (Biscoe and Mallinson) to approach parents to see if the majority of them can use the footbridge from Raj Bagh side to pick and drop the kids as most of them use their own vehicles or hire private vans to ferry the students. If they cooperate to use the foot bridge side, it will make a difference and ease congestion in Lal Chowk," he said, adding that other schools like Presentation Convent have been asked to use the Jehangir Chowk area and avoid using the Lal Chowk side.

Notably, the schools have scheduled annual exams of junior class students which are likely to continue for the first three weeks of March 2023.

"The exams of students have already started and they return home by 12 or 12.30 and there is no class work in any schools for the first three weeks of March. As a parent, I do not want kids to get stuck in traffic jams, so I recommended a change in the school timing," the SSP traffic said.

He said the Traffic department can press whole manpower on roads but it will not serve any purpose as vehicles move very slowly given the condition of the road.

"So clearance of this amount of traffic is getting difficult. But the schools have scheduled exams due to which the students will leave early and there will be no pressure during peak hours. But there is a major challenge for us to regulate the traffic," he said.

In view of the present condition of the roads, the change in the school timing is seen as the only viable solution to ease the congestion on the roads connecting Lal Chowk.

"So to avoid discomfort to kids, it is better to segregate the timing. The decision is purely driven by the fact that corridors are choked," the SSP traffic said.

Notably, the spots which would take seconds to pass now take minutes because all the men and machinery are placed at these spots thus leaving a narrow space for the vehicles to pass.

An official in the civil secretariat informed Greater Kashmir that the recommendations to change the timing of city schools were sent to the Directorate of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) in the first week of February this year.

"The DSEK sent the recommendations to the administrative department for its approval," the official said, adding that the file was sent to the administrative department in the 2nd week of February.

"The recommendations have been approved and the formal order is likely to be issued in a day or two," the official said. Greater Kashmir