LG: Markets in Srinagar to soon resemble those in metro cities
SRINAGAR: The markets in Srinagar will soon resemble the ones in metro cities, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha said on Friday after he inaugurated a market under the smart city project.
“The Polo View Market has been redesigned under the Smart City project. The electric wires and telecom fiber have all been laid underground. The market can be kept open even during the night,” he said.
Known for handicrafts and handloom products, the shopping centre has been transformed into a premium pedestrian market by Srinagar Smart City Limited.
“This market has been transformed into pedestrian-oriented high street that will attract more footfall, increased retail sale, and improved experience of visitors. This is just a start and in the days to come, the smart city project will develop many such markets on Residency Road, Lal Chowk and the old city area,” the LG said.
“The endeavour to make Srinagar look like Delhi or Chandigarh or other big cities is on. The people who have come here would have felt that they were in Delhi or Mumbai and not in Srinagar. You will get to see many more markets like this in the coming days,” Sinha added.
The posh market has undergone a massive facelift after about 60 years and will now be a pedestrian mall with no vehicles, dangling wires or open drains.
“The development has been made without any drastic changes. The traffic will ply on a newly carved road on the market’s backside,” officials said.
The shopping street has dozens of high-end shops selling different merchandise and has now become Valley’s first wirefree market. Magnificent Chinar trees, which have been left untouched, have added to the glory of the market.
“PoloView High Street-First completely pedestrian & wire free market in #Srinagar, getting ready to welcome you. Universal access, separate undergrnd sewerage & drainage networks,Underground electricity &comm. lines,facade improvmnt of buildings, public convenience all part of it (sic),” tweeted Srinagar municipal corporation.
Commissioner Athar Amir Khan also shared pictures of the market, which were appreciated on social media platforms. Mayor Junaid Mattu tweeted, “A personal dream come true ‘Polo View High Street’ — Our first Pedestrian Mall in Srinagar. Great job @AtharAamirKhan and team @sclsrinagar.”
The market is around seven decades’ old and was named after adjacent polo ground where matches used to be played before the Partition.
Retired cultural officer, poet and oral historian Zareef Ahmad Zareef said the market was established in 1952 for the rehabilitation of 32 shopkeepers whose showrooms were destroyed in a fire on Lambert Lane. “The market was carved out of the polo ground in 1952. In 1963, shops were reconstructed with brick and mortar following a fire incident again. The place was famous due to its Chinar trees,” he said, adding that the administration should be appreciated for making this place more attractive.
Other than the Polo View market, the LG also inaugurated two other Srinagar Smart City projects and 25 urban local bodies (ULB) projects.