The Long Walk Home As Kashmir’s Wheels Grind To A Halt

Srinagar: For Ahmad, a medical consultation for his ailing mother turned into a marathon of hitchhiking and ambulance hopping. Hailing from north Kashmir’s Bandipora, he was forced to navigate the transporters’ strike to reach the tertiary care Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar on Monday.

“We first took an ambulance to a hospital in Sumbal and then boarded another, paying Rs 650 to reach Srinagar,” he said while stranded on the road with his ailing mother outside the largest bus yard in Srinagar’s Parimpora.

Holding his mother as she leaned on him for support, the young man explained they had managed to hitch a ride from the hospital but were now stranded. “We have nowhere to go from here,” he said, having spent over half an hour trying to flag down private cars.

In Jammu and Kashmir, private transporters called a one-day strike to protest the extension of the state-owned smart city bus service outside the twin urban capitals. This caused hardships for office-goers, students, and commuters who had to walk to their destinations.

However, the transporters’ community said they were forced off the roads because the government has been unable to establish a transport policy.

A senior trade union leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Transporters Welfare Association, Sheikh Mohammad Yousuf, said they had suggested to the government to ply the smart city buses on routes lacking public transport.

“But they don’t follow rules and timetables. They brought the transport sector to the brink of devastation in the city. Now, they have expanded e-buses outside Srinagar and are offering free bus service to women,” he said.

Private buses on halt at a bus stand in Srinagar (ETV Bharat)

The concession, according to him, has hit them hard as women prefer e-buses for free rides instead of private ones.

“We had suggested Chief Minister Omar Abdullah offer this concession in electricity tariffs to people. But they are paying our taxpayers' money to a private contractor running the smart service buses,” Sheikh added.

Inside the yard, over 400 buses stood stationary in protest as drivers expressed their frustration.

Standing by his bus, a driver, Mehraj-ud-Din, said that he scrapped his old bus in 2023 with a promise he would be offered a Rs 5 lakh subsidy.

But three years later, Din said he regrets the decision. “I mortgaged my property and bought this bus. Now, I owe Rs 40 lakh to a bank, but the government has yet to pay the scrap subsidy despite submitting documents to transport authorities,” he added.

Private transporters' protest against the expansion of smart city buses in Jammu and Kashmir (ETV Bharat)

Another driver, Farooq Ahmad Mir of Srinagar, who inherited the bus from his father over 50 years ago, said that he had to sell his belongings to pay the loan installment.

“We have offered buses during the peak of militancy to ferry government staffers and security forces personnel. But the government has not considered our demands so far,” he said.

Citing the surge in taxes, including the annual Rs 28,500 fitness fee for commercial vehicles, Mir said they cannot cover basic expenses currently.

“Two months ago, we held a meeting with the transport minister and officials. They hiked fares by 18 percent, but the cabinet has not cleared that decision yet,” said Sheikh. “It has hit the sector badly.”

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