Sadaf Khursheed
Srinagar, Dec 10 (KNB): Sopore-the apple town, chota London and the home to Asia’s second largest fruit Mandi presents a picture of gloom, apathy and government negligence. Sopore has always been neglected by the successive governments.
Whole of the Sopore town has become a dumping site with garbage seen everywhere like outside boys and girls higher secondaries, outside the maternity hospital and elsewhere.these garabbage sites have become a safe heaven for the dogs who then creates a lot more problems for the residents.”we are afraid to send our children outside alone as there are so many dogs roaming because of this garrabage”,said a resident.The municipal council also is in slumber and only wakes up for the time being when any official visits the area.The roads are in a very bad condition and have not been macdimised for so long.The dust keeps on getting in our lungs which causes a lot of health issues.
Traffic chaos is another nuisance which has become a headache for the local residents.”The traffic remains stuck for hours and there is not a single cop to regulate it and even not jkp personalls are seen on the sight”,alledged locals however according to SSP Sopore there are police personals regulating the traffic moments in the area .
There are no proper parking spaces available and these traffic cops are mostly invisible to a common man.
Most of the pedestrian spaces in the area is occupied by the street hawkers who have kept their stalls outside government higher secondary schools which again creates disturbances for the school students.”Government time and again promised to allot separate space for these hawkers but all fake promises,alledged a school girl for whom coming to school is a nightmare as she has to pass through all the disturbing noices of the hawkers and her study gets affected too.
The family time where families can spend time together on holidays in public parks is still a distant dream.”There are no family parks where we can spend quality time with the family”, said a local..The drainage system ,the water supply and the electricity is again in shambles in the area.
“Drug addiction is becoming more and more dreadful each day with no drug de-addiction centre in the area,we need one centre where all the addicts can leave their bad habit”, said a resident however
when contacted SSP Sopore Harmeet Singh said “We already have one in Baramulla and Srinagar.
In nutshell, it can be summed up that Sopore needs a holistic development on all fronts that have been neglected till now. (KNB)