Commuters face hardship as transporters' strike enters 2nd day in Kashmir

Srinagar, Sep 7: Commuters continued to face hardship in Kashmir valley as the strike called by transporters in protest against the shifting of General Bus Stand from Batamaloo in the civil lines to the city outskirts entered second day today.

      However, in order to rehabilitate the shopkeepers and other trading persons who shall be affected by shifting of General Bus Stand Batamaloo, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan said that the government is preparing a comprehensive rehabilitation plan.
      The two-day strike was called by the Kashmir Transporters Welfare Association (KTWA) since yesterday to protest against the shifting of the Batamaloo General Bus Stand to Parimpora on the city outskirts.
      However, cabs and auto-rickshaws were plying normally on the roads as their respective associations didn’t back the strike call.
      The most affected were inter-district services even though authorities had engaged Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation (JKSRT) buses on these routes.
      Office goers had a tough time reaching their workplace.
      “Cabs are plying on all routes, but their number is not adequate to cater to the needs of the commuters in the valley. Moreover travel by cabs and three wheelers was also costly as compared to buses and mini buses.
        I had to wait for over an hour before I boarded a shared cab from Budshah Nagar to Jahingir chowk. From here I will again have to wait for a shared cab to reach downtown, where I work as a salesman in a shop. It is very frustrating,” Nadeem Ahmad told UNI.
       Train service, operating between Baramulla-Srinagar-Anantnag –Qazigund and Banihal in Jammu region witnessed extra ordinary rush of passengers because of strike by transporters.
      The state government had ordered shifting of the bus stand connecting Srinagar with all the district headquarters of Kashmir valley to Parimpora to decongest the city. The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has also ordered immediate shifting of the bus stand.       
   However, a KTWA spokesperson alleged the shifting of the bus stand had badly affected the livelihood of thousands of people and warned of a complete shutdown of public transport in the Valley if the bus terminal was not made operational from Batamaloo.
      “In case the government does not fulfill the demand of transporters of re-shifting the bus stand to Batamaloo, a complete shutdown will be observed for two-days from tomorrow,” he said.
      But, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan said that under the rehabilitation plan, all affected shopkeepers and other persons whose trading activity may suffer due to the shifting of General Bus Stand Batamaloo to Parimpora will be properly rehabilitated so that their livelihood is not suffered.
      He further said that the draft of this comprehensive rehabilitation plan will be released soon so that it will be implemented immediately for the benefit of affected shopkeepers and other trading persons of the General Bus Stand Batamaloo.
UNI