All it Takes is an Hour’s Rain for Srinagar’s Lal Chowk to Flood

Srinagar’s Lal Chowk turns into a pool during monsoon.

(Photo Courtesy: Tufial Dar)

Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas

It takes just one hour of rain and Lal Chowk, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar, turns into a pool. The traffic reaches a standstill because of the flooding.

The water also ends up flowing into shops damaging the goods. There is an electronic market, a garment market, and shops for shoes in the vicinity. These waters often end up destroying products.

All this is because the drainage system does not function properly.

We enjoy the rains and welcome it but soon our happiness turns into sadness when we see the condition of Lal Chowk.

It’s the locals that suffer the most. We can’t get to work on time, kids need to be careful when they travel as well. The authorities and concerned departments are to blame.

I spoke to the Sheikh Imran, Deputy Mayor, Srinagar Municipal Corporation regarding this issue.

This problem is due to70 years of neglect, and all our babus who sit at Church Lane in Gupkar, as well as at the Secretariat. It is our shopkeepers who have to suffer.I had asked for funds, for Rs 1,100 crores to be allocated to rectify the problem. No one is ready to listen.

Sheikh Imran, Deputy Mayor, Srinagar Municipal Corporation

They are promising us a smart city but looking at the current situation, I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.

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