Insha Mushtaq Dar
Sumo drivers in Lal chowk area of south Kashmir’s Anantnag town staged a protest over long-term seizure of their taxi stands which has rendered them jobless. The stand (oldest stand in the town) was shifted from Mehandi Kadal to Wazir Bagh by the authorities, a year ago, citing traffic congestion reasons.
The sumo drivers gathered near the sumo stand on Tuesday protesting against the allocation of their stands for the parking purpose of employees of the District Commissioner (DC) office.
The agitated sumo divers alleged that “the authorities, a year ago, seized our sumo stands promising us that they will relocate us at different places but it has been more than a year now and we still don’t have any permanent place.”
President of the Transport Association, Shabir Ahmed, speaking to The Kashmiriyat about the ongoing protest against authorities said, “They told us that since the stand is near the DC office, mini secretariat, it causes traffic inconveniences so they closed our stands and promised us that they will adjust us somewhere else. It has been a year now and they have failed to accommodate us.”
He further alleged that stands from other areas have been accommodated in the area but no one is paying any heed towards them. He said, “Because of political approach they adjusted sumo stands from far flung areas like Sirgufwara and Chattergul here. They allotted lands for them but we, the local drivers, are yet to be accommodated.”
Contesting the official claims regarding traffic congestion, Shabir Ahmed said, “They allege that our cabs create traffic inconvenience but this isn’t the truth.”
Shabir said to The Kashmiriyat that most of the road is occupied by shopkeepers who lay their stalls, which occupy most of the road. He said that hawkers, too, occupy most of the road, leading to congestion on the roads. “Also, people park their private vehicles on the road. Where would we go when most of the road is covered by these people alone?” he said.
Shabir Ahmed further said that the officials are proposing that they will provide them 10 Kanals of land near Ashajipora near hospital. He said, “None of us are willing to shift there since it is not a beneficial route for us. We are almost 2000 drivers. Where shall we go?”
Putting forward his demand he said, “We demand that our stands be given back to us. They can use these 10 Kanals for some other purpose.”
Mohammad Shafi, a sumo driver from the same stand, talking to The Kashmiriyat said, “They closed down our stand stating that as per the High Court orders, they will shift us somewhere else. But we are yet to given a stable place.”
“Since the abrogation of Article 370, we have suffered economically. The drivers of Kashmir are worst sufferers of the lockdown. We appeal to the higher authorities to relocate us somewhere we can function smoothly,” he added.
Another sumo driver protesting against the move of authorities told The Kashmiriyat that he requests the authorities to relocate them somewhere they can function smoothly. Narrating the difficulties faced by him due to this decision, he said, “Ever since this decision was taken, I have paid ₹3000 fine for each of my car because we have to function from the middle of the roads, since we have not been allotted a proper stand.”
“After shifting us from this stand, they are now planning to use the space for parking of the cars of DC office employees,” he said adding that he again puts forward the demand that their accommodation be prioritized.
The Kashmiriyat spoke to the Executive Officer of Municipal Corporation Anantnag, Mohammad Jahangir Khanday, regarding the issue of Sumo drivers. He said that the stand was in the middle of the town and due to traffic congestion reasons, the stand was shifted to Wazir Bagh. “They are now demanding that they should be given this land also, which isn’t possible,” he added.
Speaking about the stand being used for parking purposes, he said, “Since this is a government land, we thought of using it as the Parking Area for the employees of DC office since DC office has very less space for accommodating the cars.”
“In order to assure smooth functioning of the traffic in the town, we are constructing another sumo stand for them out of the town at Ashajipora where they will be accommodated properly. Till then, we have provided them space at Wazir Bagh,” he said.