Assembly session: An ordeal for people in Kashmir

Srinagar, Aug 20 (UNI) Problems galore for the common people every time the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature sits in the summer capital of the state.

Not only the students and employees, but even the patients and aged people are the worst sufferers of restrictions and tight security arrangements put in place for the safety of the lawmakers.

The entire Badshah Chowk-Jehangir Chowk area, the main access point to the Srinagar city, is out of bounds for the common people during the entire session of the state Legislature.

The heavy traffic restrictions add to the woes of the residents who see the commencement of the session as a ''curse'' and not something to cheer about as compared to other parts of the country where people eagerly await it with much hope and expectations.

The resumption of the current (July-August) session of the state Legislature today was no different from the previous sittings for the common people.

They faced a tough time in reaching their respective destinations and the day witnessed frequent traffic snarls almost on all the routes -- busy or otherwise -- in the capital city.

An aged woman was seen requesting a security personnel to allow her to cross the road at Badshah Chowk. Instead, she was asked to take a long walk, almost two km, to reach to the other side of the 90-ft road.

Similarly, schoolchildren were not allowed to cross the road, barricaded and sealed to prevent any militant attack. Instead of a three-minute walk from one end of the bridge over river Jhelum to the other, the students were forced to take a much longer route to reach to their schools.

Patients also had to take longer routes to reach to the hospitals as security men appeared least bothered about their survival.

Shopkeepers in the area refused to open their outlets this morning, saying their business was badly affected due to stringent security measures and other restrictions.

The demand for shifting the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature Complex from the present place is gaining ground even as Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad recently admitted that the people were facing lot of inconvenience and difficulties during the sessions.

He directed the Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation (JKPCC) to immediately restart the work on the new Complex of the state Legislature near the Civil Secretariat here.

This, Mr Azad said, would help free movement of common people even during the sessions. The Chief Minister directed the JKPCC to complete the construction of the new Legislature complex by May next year so that the next session was held there.

The work on the Complex had started in 1982, but was abandoned for unknown reasons.

Till the building was constructed, the residents demand some sort of relief from the heavy security 'bandobast' during the sessions of the state Legislature here.

UNI