Srinagar stands hijacked by vendors and vehicles.

In the first week of June 2016, I was pleased to write in these columns about Srinagar freed from roadside vendors and illegal parking. The administration had done wonders by restraining ever-growing roadside vendors and reining unruly vehicles. That time it was a wonderful and comforting sight and experience of serenity, particularly for pedestrians. This whole exercise substantially contributed in regulating messy traffic on city roads. But, unfortunately, this whole exercise, now, seems to have got washed with more than five months of unrest in the valley.

Personally, I am of the opinion that roadside vendors are also important stakeholders in city business. But their share in conducting business should be in synergy with routine regular trading activities. Any disproportionate street vending activity will not only ruin the practice of business but will add to the confusion and chocking of streets. Srinagar like any struggling city in the region has a long history of roadside vending. Earlier, a cluster of vendors would create a festive ‘bazaar’ contributing a lot to economy and employment generation. Even now, most of the cities and markets allow street vendors to do business on any particular day of the week or during festival periods in the vicinity of shrines. Srinagar city’s ‘Sunday market’ in civil line area and ‘Friday market’ in the vicinity of the historic shrine of Hazratbal are best weekly trading destinations for vendors and prospective customers, where with a large scope of bargaining almost everything is sold at reasonable rates. Read More A crowded city!