HOPES REKINDLED
The response of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in context with Metro Rail proposals for Jammu and Srinagar cities has once again kindled the hopes of the people of the UT of J&K which are presently confronting the worst ever traffic scenario during rush hours both in Jammu and Srinagar Cities as the present road edifice is inadequate looking into the density of vehicles. Though, no scientific analysis is available in any public domain right now but the situation with regard to snarling traffic tells the true picture that the roads in urban centers viz Jammu and Srinagar need total revamp, which is a distant dream right now because the dispensation has failed to even repair the existing roads and bridges. The testimony to the fact that government has failed to look after the road infrastructure is the dismal position of Tawi bridge near Gujjar Nagar, Main Tawi bridge which despite three months of repairing few weeks back is again turned abysmal with new potholes welcoming commuters and asking them to maneuver while on wheels, Bikram Chowk flyover, which has become bone-breaker due to its faulty construction as reported in media also and many other road links. With people facing lots of problems due to traffic snarls and other issues especially the hefty amount of Challans realized by the Traffic departments, everyone is anticipating a public transport which is fast, hassle-free, economical, comfortable, and above all pollution free. All these aspects can only be fulfilled by Metro rail project therefore the Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore’s statement in the Lok Sabha that the project to introduce Metro in Jammu and Srinagar cities is under appraisal/approval category has raised the hopes of the people and they have already started dreaming about the comfortable travel and hassle-free rides of Metro trains as the case in many other cities like Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai. it seems that soon the work on these projects will start and looking into the pace of metro projects in other cities it could be guessed that very soon metro trains will start chugging on elevated pillars giving a sigh of relief to people who are currently confronting with their raised adrenaline levels due to traffic congestion and uncontrolled flow of vehicles as traffic sense is missing in most of the commuters in J&K.