Chaos reigns supreme as teachers celebrate in Kashmir

Srinagar, Sep 5 (UNI) Office goers and school children had harrowing time this morning as life was thrown out of gear due to a rally organised by the Jammu and Kashmir government on the Teachers' Day.

Traffic moved at snail's pace on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway from Panthachowk to Batamaloo via Sonawar as about 30,000 teachers gathered at the Sher-i-Kashmir cricket stadium here to participate in the function to mark the Teachers' Day today.

Unruly and rash driving further added to the prevailing chaos as few traffic policemen were seen on the roads to ensure smooth movement of vehicles.

Employees and students reached beyond schedule to their offices and schools respectively.

At many places, armed police personnel were seen managing the traffic and restoring order on roads. Tata Sumo (taxi) and public transport drivers besides youngsters were seen openly flouting the norms and throwing all traffic rules to the wind.

The Kashmir valley has witnessed a sharp increase in road accidents in the recent past due to non-conformity of traffic rules and regulations by Tata Sumo (taxi) and public transport drivers and youngsters, a majority of whom were found to be ineligible for possessing a driving license.

Chaos reigns supreme whenever a rally or a public meeting is organised in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

There have been growing demands from various quarters to ban such rallies and public meetings in Srinagar as the roads were unable to cope up with the heavy rush of vehicles. The number of vehicles in Kashmir has also increased manifold over a period of time.

Similar chaos prevails in the city whenever the state Legislature is in session.

For today's function, the officers of the school education department have been working overtime for some days under the instructions of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to ensure participation of 30,000 teachers and other officials in the event.

All zonal education officers and principals had been asked to arrange buses and pack lunches for the participating teachers of their respective zones and schools.

Elaborate arrangements for ferrying the teachers in buses from various districts to the capital city had been made.

It was for the first time that the state government organised such a large gathering to celebrate Teachers' Day. Previously, the day was celebrated at Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Complex (SKICC) and the Tagore Hall here.

UNI