Srinagar: Traders in Ganderbal district have shuttered their shops in a protest highlighting the authorities’ failure to provide essential services.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the shopkeepers in the Tawheed Chowk market of the district conveyed their dissatisfaction with the inconsistent power supply, insufficient street lighting, and inadequate drainage systems. These issues, they claim, have been overlooked by the relevant authorities.

Arif Bashir Butt, president of the Bazar Committee Tawheed Chowk, emphasized the urgency of their demands for continuous electricity and resolutions to the ongoing infrastructural problems impacting the traders. “One side of the market receives electricity, while the other half does not. We’re also facing drainage and street lighting problems. These issues need immediate attention,” Butt stated. He further mentioned that despite raising these issues with the authorities, the promised solutions have not been implemented.

“We were assured that smart meters would be installed to ensure continuous supply, but despite their installation, round-the-clock electricity is still nowhere in sight,” he added.