Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 30: Shopkeepers at Shopian’s main market in South Kashmir are having a tough time due to unattended snow that was left in front of their shops after road clearance.
The shopkeepers said the snow has blocked the entrance to their shops and caused inconvenience for the customers. “Today, it took me almost 2-3 hours to make a way for myself. I opened the shop but the view of the shop is still blocked with snow. Moreover, snow in front of our shops discourage visitors, directly affecting the sales,” Bilal Ahmad, a shopkeeper said, adding the customers face extreme difficulty to reach the shops.
He added that the snow accumulated in front of our shops doubled due to the dumping of more snow during the road clearance. “Without waiting for the officials I took the shovel and cleared half of the snow but everyone was not able to do that which forced them to close their shops,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Shopian, Owaise Ahmad, when contacted said that the reason for leaving the snow on a few shop fronts was to avoid any damage to parapets and the footpaths. “The snow of the entire town was cleared last night with the help of earth movers. However, some of the shop fronts could not be cleared as the machines would have damaged the parapets,” he said.
The residents lamented that the authority’s failure to clear the snow from the lanes and by-lanes of Shopian has crippled the movement of residents. “Children cannot go to tuitions as it is difficult to walk over snow clad streets. It has also affected the commuters as private vehicles are not able to move,” they said.
A Shopian Municipal Committee officail said: “We have cleared the streets on time, but snow from rooftops is causing problems in these narrow lanes. We will clear that as in coming days.”
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