G20 Showcased Polo View Market in Srinagar Grapples with Persistent Flooding Woes
Fresh showers on Tuesday inundated shops in the newly-revamped Poloview market that served as a showcase for Group of 20 delegates during their Kashmir visit in May, eliciting sharp criticism.
Established in 1952, the Poloview market was revamped recently under the Smart City project and inaugurated in May, making it the first pedestrian and wire-free market with underground drainage, electricity and communication system in Srinagar.
Some of the shop owners selling Kashmir shawls, suits with handicraft, shoes and jewellery in the market were in for an unpleasant surprise when they pulled up the shutters in the morning to find their shops flooded.
“For the first time, I witnessed my shop inundated with water causing me losses in lakhs. Like me, some 7-8 shops are affected,” said Tariq Ahmad, who has a shoeware shop in the market.
Lined with Chinars that were left untouched in the revamp, the market is a go-to place for locals as well as the tourists now with selfie points and chairs under the shade of gigantic Chinar trees.
The shop owners were forced to bring out their products into the sun to dry them as they drained out the water using pumps and buckets.
“In the past there used to be some water logging due to old drainage issues but after the revamping of the market and establishment of the new drain under the smart city project, this should not have happened,” another businessman said.
The inundated market became a topic of discussion and memes for netizens.
National Conference spokesperson Tanveer Sadiq shared a video of the inundated market tagged it as “Smart City Srinagar” with background song “Kitni Khubsoorat Yeh Tasveer Hai…Yeh Kashmir Hai” in an obvious jibe.
Srinagar municipal commissioner and Smart City executive Athar Amir Khan, meanwhile, visited the market after the flurry of criticism and refuted claims that the new drainage was a failure. He told the media that a few shops have been affected, possibly due to an old drain which was present at the backside of the market.
“If we check the market, there is no overflow this time. Last year this used to be entirely flooded with water as this was a low-lying area. Today there is no water logging,” he said.
He said that they were checking the cause of inundation in a few shops which was a surprise for them as well.
“Some three shops have been inundated with water.. there is one old box drain at the backside of the market, it may be possible that the box drain might have a puncture which pushed water into shops,” he said.
