Curfew revives water transport in Bandipora
Mir TariqBandipora, Aug 30: Amid tough curfew restriction people are reviving the age-old tradition of water transport trough River Jhelum here in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.During the curfew the River Jhelum proved more helpful than the macadamized highways in Bandipora as all roads wore a deserted look.People here are using of Donga boats as vehicles to move from one place to another in Bandipora."The roads have been blocked by troopers and we are using shikaras to ferry passengers from one palace to another," said a boatmen Muhammad Afzal Dar. "We have put around 50 boats for the service of people."Another boatman Muhammad Ashraf said while traveling in boats, they try to avoid moving through the area where troopers patrol on the river banks."I helped a large number of students studying in different Indian states reach Srinagar wherefrom they had to reach the Srinagar Airport," said a young boatman of Sumbal.People from Bandipora town are using boats to move towards other villages of the district like Hajin, Banyari, Sumbal, Shahgund, Prang, Ajas, Saderkoot, Aloosa, Kema, Watlab and Adipora.The boatmen in Bandipora are not charging the people for ferrying them from one place to another but policeman and employees are being charged Rs 500 to reach Srinagar city.