Srinagar, Sept 13: Despite the commissioning of a flyover last year, the Bemina Bypass stretch—one of Srinagar’s key traffic arteries linking hospitals, government offices and residential colonies to NH-44—continues to choke under daily traffic snarls, leaving commuters and patients stranded for long hours.
Locals said the road from Bemina Crossing (Tattoo Ground) to the NH-44 corridor carries a heavy load of traffic toward north and south Kashmir but remains too narrow to handle the volume. “Traffic jams have become routine. Even ambulances get stuck for half an hour at times, with little presence of traffic police on the ground,” said Irfan Ahmad, a commuter.
Though the Bemina Flyover was inaugurated in June 2024 to ease congestion at the junction, residents say it has made little difference, as the bottlenecks persist at ground level. The bigger concern, they point out, is the fate of the long-discussed four-laning project, reportedly under NABARD funding. “There’s no official sanction, DPR, or timeline. The matter was mentioned in the last Assembly session but nothing has moved on the ground,” a local resident said.
Commuters complain they spend 30–40 minutes stuck in the stretch daily, calling for urgent widening of the road and better traffic regulation. Meanwhile, Roads & Buildings officials were not immediately available for comment on the project’s status.
Residents have appealed to the administration to expedite four-laning, improve traffic management, and deploy more police personnel at Bemina Crossing to prevent the recurring gridlock. (KNO)
