Inayat Qayoom
Baramulla: Traders under the banner of Beopar Mandal Baramulla on Wednesday staged a strong protest demonstration against district administration and Beacon authorities for their failure in repairing choked and damaged drainage system in Baramulla town.
Traders of the Baramulla assembled on Srinagar- Uri highway and raised slogans against administration and beacon authorities.
“The drainage system along the highway in Baramulla town is in shambles. Choked and damaged drains have made life hellish as several people fall into the muck filled drains. We are giving an ultimatum of one week to authorities to repair the drainage system in town if our demand is not fulfilled there will be massive protest and shutdown in the town,” said General Secretary Traders Federation Baramulla, Er Tariq Ahmad Mugloo.
“Roads with potholes, defunct street lights, huge heap of garbage, traffic mess, mismanaged bus stands and poor drainage system has made life hellish here. Nobody seems to listen. We fail to understand where the authorities are as it is the heart of town,” asked Magloo.
President Beopar Mandal Baramulla Mohammad Ashraf Ganai said that traders raised the issue with district administration one month ago and they were assured that the matter will be resolved but the drain has been left open causing huge inconvenience to pedestrians and traders.
“Repairing of the drain was to be done by Beacon and R&B department after its cleaning by Municipal Council Baramulla but nothing happened on ground.
The traders also demanded macadamisation of the roads of the town including the old Bus Stand and other adjoining links of the town.
“Baramulla town and its adjoining areas are the worst neglected and discriminated against so far as development and basic amenities like roads, power and drinking water is concerned. Now our four demands are repairmen of the drainage system, car parking and macdamisation of the roads,” another protestor said. Later, the protestors called off their protest peacefully.