The recent rain that deluged the Srinagar city's landmark market Polo View has posed a serious question on the planning and the quality of work related to the broad-based Smart City Projects being undertaken in the Capital cities of Jammu Kashmir.
The old tourist-centric market has a royal legacy of standing with the huge Polo Ground in the heart of the civil line area as a part of Srinagar Smart City Project. The middle road of the Polo View, pedestrian paths and approach roads were filled with water-logging with some hours of rain. The view was embarrassing for those associated with the Smart City Projects more importantly as the market was remodelled with a facelift and was inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha with much fanfare just few days ahead of the high profiled G-20 summit in Srinagar. The delegates of G20 were especially motivated to visit the glittering market offering so much of Kashmir to the special guests.
There are several other projects which are underway under the government's prestigious Smart City project both in Srinagar and Jammu but the recent heavy inundation in the aforesaid renovated market situated in Srinagar due to a rain spell has exposed all the tall claims and the capability of the city developers.
It is pertinent to mention that the Polo View is Kashmir's first pedestrian-oriented shopping street and wire-free market and the renovated street was inaugurated by J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on May 12, this year. The street, established in 1954 by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, who happened to be the Prime Minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, was renovated under the Srinagar Smart City Project. What is more brazen is the fact that during the inauguration of the aforesaid project there were so many entities for taking the credit but when the rains played the spoilsport, there is no one to take the responsibility that how things have gone haywire and why the state of art infrastructure has proven to be a disaster during the first heavy rain after the new market came into existence in Polo View locality.
Notably, In September 2014, the Kashmir Valley experienced devastating floods, claiming the lives of nearly 300 people. The region was submerged in floodwaters for nearly three weeks, severely impacting around two million families. The disaster resulted in the loss of household assets and livelihoods for 1.4 million individuals, with 67,000 houses fully damaged and over 66,000 partially damaged. The scale of destruction and loss of life during the floods highlighted the poor draining system in the Valley with urgent need for comprehensive disaster management and preparedness measures in the region. It is imperative to address the shortcomings and work towards genuine transformation, creating truly smart, resilient, and sustainable urban centers in Jammu and Kashmir.
