Srinagar Diary

Srinagar to get electric buses
Electric buses are all set to ply on the roads of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The chief executive officer, Srinagar Smart City Limited (SSCL), has submitted a detailed project report about use of electric buses in Srinagar. An official said that if all went well, electric buses would start plying on city roads this year. He said the electric buses would reduce air pollution caused by conventional buses. The introduction of electric buses has been approved as a convergence project between the J&K State Road Transport Corporation and SSCL, for which provision of H19.88 crore over two years has been proposed under Smart City funding.

Walkway from Nehru Park to Foreshore road
The government is mulling constructing a walkway and cycle track from Nehru Park to Foreshore Road on Boulevard Road along the Dal Lake in Srinagar. The walkway and cycle track would benefit the locals and tourists. It would help people commute in an eco-friendly way on the banks of the Dal Lake. The traffic advisor to the state government has said some drawings have been made and the final approval is awaited. Revenue officers have been directed to prepare a list of the land and properties that would come under the cycle way so that the process to acquire them can get under way. 

Kashmir University student missing
Sameer Ahmad Dar, a student of Kashmir University from Kakapora area of restive south Kashmir, is missing since March 19. Dar, a student of Applied Geology in the Earth Sciences Department of Kashmir University, had left home for the university on March 19 and since then his whereabouts are not known. His shocked family has lodged a report in a local police station about his going missing. University of Kashmir students have been staging near-daily protests against his disappearance and pressing the police to trace his whereabouts. The students have also started an online campaign to find Sameer. University officials are in touch with the police and the vice chancellor has urged the authorities to help trace the student.

Reservation in schools sought for wards of police personnel
The police in Jammu and Kashmir have sought reservation and concession in fees for their children in 28 top schools in the state, including four missionary schools. The police want 30 per cent concession in fees and 20 per cent of the seats reserved for their wards so that they can get quality education. A police official said they were only requesting the schools to provide the reservation and fee concession. “It is not a direction. It is their choice to give admission and fee concession to our kids. If they do so, it is OK, and if they don’t, what can be done?” The chairman of Private School Association Kashmir, G N Var, said the schools could not provide such relaxation on the basis of profession. “Today it is the police, tomorrow the Army and other groups may demand it,” he said.