Post abrogation of Article 370, Kashmir witnesses first rush hour

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 16

The Kashmir valley’s main commercial nerve centre Lal Chowk witnessed the first rush hour on Monday as heavy volume of private vehicles clogged roads in the central city here.

The volume of traffic, mainly private vehicles and auto-rickshaws, was unusually high at the Lal Chowk area compared to that in the last five weeks, which have been marred by restrictions and a spontaneous shutdown in the region.

For the first time since August 5, when Article 370 was abrogated and travel restrictions were imposed, the city’s central roads around Lal Chowk witnessed traffic jams during the morning hours.

“Now it seems only shops are left closed,” a motorcyclist commented at a Polo View crossroad where the traffic police struggled to streamline the rush of traffic.

The daytime closure of shops and markets has continued across the Kashmir valley since the abrogation of the Article 370 last month. The shops and markets maintain an early morning shopping schedule before the shopping hours close at around 9 am. The passenger transport has also remained off the road for the last six weeks and inter-district and intra-district busses and taxi services have remained suspended. The rush of private vehicles, however, has remained limited to the central city areas, which house dozens of government offices, including the civil secretariat. The central city areas also house hundreds of private offices. On the periphery of the city, the roads were largely deserted, while the volume of traffic decreased drastically by the afternoon. The situation in the Kashmir valley has remained uncertain since August 5 as the government imposed travel and communication restrictions. While travel restrictions were eased later and landline phones were restored, mobile phone and Internet services remain suspended.