Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 21: Commuters, particularly students, today expressed strong resentment over the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Kashmir’s decision to declare Residency Road and Maulana Azad (MA) Road as No e-Rickshaw Zones, saying the move has severely disrupted their daily travel.
Several students told ‘Excelsior’ that they relied heavily on e-rickshaws to reach schools and colleges located along MA Road.
With the routes now barred, they said reaching their institutions has become both time-consuming and exhausting, urging authorities to allow at least one dedicated corridor for e-rickshaw movement.
Shahid Hussain, a student of SP College who travels from HMT, said he is dropped at Jehangir Chowk but finds no onward transport in the absence of e-rickshaws.
“Buses have no fixed timing, and I cannot wait endlessly. Most of them arrive overcrowded, especially in the morning,” he said.
Firdous Nazir, who travels from Nishat to Dalgate before heading to college, shared similar concerns, saying his entire schedule has been disrupted by the move.
“The transport drops me at Dalgate; at times I find transport, but most of the time it gets difficult. From Dalgate, it’s hard to find a proper connection. Earlier, e-rickshaws made it easy to reach on time. Now it has become hectic,” he said, calling for alternative arrangements.
Notably, as per the order issued earlier by the transport authorities following a Regional Transport Authority meeting held on November 13, the restricted stretches include MA Road from Jehangir Chowk to the J&K Bank headquarters and Residency Road from Hari Singh High Street to the J&K Bank headquarters.
Saima Bhat from Pampore, a student of Women’s College, said she now struggles daily after the ban and demanded a way out, stressing that not every student has personal transport.
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