Srinagar :
For years, navigating Srinagar’s streets has felt like a daily battle. Endless jams, honking horns, and frustration on roads like MA Road, Residency Road, and the bustling downtown area. But now, there’s a glimmer of hope.
Thanks to some smart, targeted moves by the traffic police, things are starting to smooth out, and commuters are noticing the difference.
The department has focused on the city’s worst hotspots, introducing practical changes that are making a real impact.
One big step?
Banning e-rickshaws from key arterial roads like MA Road and Residency Road. It’s cut down on those peak-hour pile-ups dramatically.
“There are still plenty of challenges in Srinagar’s traffic system,” admits SSP Traffic City Srinagar, Aijaz Ahmad. “But the measures we’ve taken on MA Road and Residency Road have brought genuine relief. The same targeted approach is now rolling out in downtown, where parking shortages cause most of the headaches.”
In the narrow lanes of downtown Srinagar, where random bus stops and parked vehicles often grind everything to a halt, officers are creating designated parking spots and fixed pick-up/drop-off points for mini-buses. “Mini-buses will only stop at marked spots now, and we’re carving out proper parking areas to free up the roads,” explains DySP Traffic City Srinagar, Mehboob Ul Haq.
Long-time commuters are already feeling the change. Ghulam Hassan, a mini-bus driver who has been behind the wheel in Srinagar for over 30 years, says the new rules have made his daily routes much smoother. “Earlier, we used to get stuck for hours in downtown because of haphazard parking and random stops. Now, with designated points, the flow is better and passengers are happier too. This is the kind of change we’ve needed for years,” he told this reporter.
Manzoor Ali, a public sector employee whose office is in the City Centre, echoes the praise. “I used to dread coming to work because of the jams on Residency Road and MA Road. But these days, I’m reaching office 20-30 minutes earlier. The ban on e-rickshaws and better parking management have really worked. Hats off to the traffic police for finally taking action,” he said with a smile.
Beyond street-level enforcement, the traffic police have been pushing for bigger changes, submitting recommendations to a high-level committee for long-term fixes. “We’ve shared our suggestions with the government, and they’re under review,” SSP Ahmad adds.
Out in rural Kashmir, the story is even more encouraging. SSP Traffic Rural Kashmir, Ravinder Paul Singh, highlights a clear drop in road accidents. “Fatalities fell to 210 in 2025 from 279 the previous year,” he says. The department also cracked down hard on dangerous stunts, seizing vehicles and counseling reckless drivers to curb the trend.
All these efforts have paid off not just in safer roads but also in higher compliance, with the department collecting ₹11.26 crore in fines this year.
While Srinagar’s traffic woes won’t vanish overnight growing vehicle numbers and limited infrastructure remain big hurdles these focused interventions, backed by positive feedback from everyday commuters, are proving that steady, common-sense changes can make city driving a little less stressful. For weary residents, it’s a welcome breath of fresh air.