SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference General Secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar on Tuesday said that in the absence of the elected representative’s general public is facing majorly while the incumbent administration has forsaken the people of Srinagar.
“Working their way through the hierarchies and multiple sections in different departments to have their issues addressed is a tedious process,” he said.
Sagar said that the much-touted exercise of Smart City has been reduced to painting walls and realigning footpaths.
“Smart city mission was slated to transform Srinagar into an eco-friendly, resilient, and socio-economically vibrant city but in reality, the basic issues of savage treatment, traffic management, infrastructure buildings, clean water, power outages, and employment generation continue to remain unaddressed,” he said.
Adding further he said, “There is no accountability on the ground; the fate of the vital projects initiated during the NC-led government has been put into limbo. Not even a single penny is being spent on the upgradation of road infrastructure in the Shaher-e-Khaas areas,” Sagar said.
He said the administration has completely failed in dispensing its basic duties. “People are feeling the heat of the ongoing rice crisis created by the Government of India’s decision to reduce Kashmir’s allotment quota,” he said.
He added that the phased flood management plan on river Jhelum despite huge budgetary allocations and approvals is yet to pick up on the ground. It seems that the government seems to have dumped the mega project,” he said adding, “The annual desiltation and dredging of the small rivulets, ponds, swamps, irrigation canals and lagoons in Srinagar and elsewhere is not on the to-do list of the government. The entire population of Srinagar, and other low-lying areas across Kashmir are living on a knife-edge.”
“It is not surprising to see Srinagar being adjudged the most inhabitable city in the country according to the government’s ease of living index released a few days ago. The rank of Jammu city on the liveability index is at 27th spot as compared to Srinagar which has been downgraded to 49th spot. The much touted idea of transforming Srinagar city into a smart city has not picked up momentum and is yet only confined to papers,” he said.
The concerned wings of the government have miserably failed to address the challenges hindering the daily lives of the urban populace of Srinagar at first place, not to speak of transforming it. The idea of transforming a city partially inundated, dotted with potholes, worn out roads; bereft of any denudation and up-to-date waste disposal mechanism seems to be farfetched,” he said.
