Traffic chaos near toll plaza leaves commuters stranded in Ganderbal

Ganderbal, May 30: Massive traffic snarls near toll plazas at Nagbal and Beehama disrupted movement along the vital Srinagar-Leh highway during the long festival weekend, leaving thousands of commuters stranded for hours and triggering fresh demands for relocation of the toll plaza from the congested stretch.

The congestion, particularly severe on Saturday morning, turned what is usually a two-hour journey into a prolonged ordeal as vehicles crawled through long queues stretching several kilometres.

Commuters alleged that despite modern infrastructure, authorities failed to ensure adequate traffic regulation and personnel deployment to manage the weekend rush, resulting in widespread chaos near the toll collection points.

“We were stuck for more than an hour on the Nagbal–Beehama stretch due to a massive traffic jam, mostly caused near the toll plaza where vehicles are charged entry fees. Surprisingly, we could not spot a single traffic police personnel to manage the chaos,” said Arshid Ahmad, a commuter.
With traffic congestion becoming a recurring problem in the area, commuters and residents have intensified demands for shifting the toll plaza away from the busy Srinagar-Leh highway stretch, arguing that its present location has become a major bottleneck.

Locals alleged that the site for the toll plaza was selected without adequately assessing traffic volume, road capacity and its impact on public movement.
“This is the only road connecting us to Srinagar and Ladakh. Setting up a toll plaza here means daily traffic jams even before toll collection begins. It should be shifted to a wider stretch beyond Ganderbal,” said Bashir Ahmad, a resident.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Ganderbal, Gulzar Ahmad, said public concerns had already been communicated to higher authorities.
“We have written to higher authorities for relocation of the toll plaza near DPO Ganderbal to immediately address traffic management issues at the site,” the DySP Traffic said.

The Srinagar-Leh highway serves as a crucial road link for commuters, transporters and tourists, and residents warned that unless corrective measures are taken, traffic disruptions are likely to worsen during weekends, holidays and peak travel periods.