Will Srinagar city be cleaned as ordered by court?
The high court has directed divisional commissioner Kashmir , traffic police SMC to make roads of srinagar available for plying vehicles, remove all vendors from footpaths and from the roadside shelters. The court has also directed the administration in Kashmir to have only designated bus stops and remove all unregistered auto sumo and taxi stands from Srinagar city.
Traffic police and other police stations have patronised hundreds of vendors who have occupied footpaths and roadside spaces. It is not only the police but also Srinagar municipality officials who against alleged bribes finally give them slips to get permanent certificates as vendors.
In Srinagar city dozens of times authorities have removed these vendors from footpaths and have removed unregistered sumo and taxi stands . Each time after removing them they are allowed to come back to occupy more space on the footpaths.
It is in place to mention that in the summer of year 2016, at the peak of unrest, Mehbooba mufti government requested the vendors to come and install their temporary shops at any place of their like from Lal Chowk to pollo view in a bid to counter the hartal call of separatists. Hundreds of vendors came and occupied all the footpaths and also spaces on the roadside and the government was happy that they were able to show normalcy and business activity in Srinagar.
With the fresh directions from J&K high court to the government to remove all encroachments and clear the roads for traffic in Srinagar, the vendors may be removed but like in the past would be requested by the same government to come and occupy the footpaths again.
