This Srinagar Locality Has Been 'Caged' for 30+ Days

We live in a gated residential complex called ARCO Residency, near World Foundation School on Airport Road in Tawheed Bagh. If that sounds peaceful or posh, let me correct the impression. Right now, we are stuck. Completely.

- Sincerely, Prof. M. Aslam Srinagar

For more than a month, our entire neighbourhood has been cut off from the rest of the city. No one can leave by car. No one can even walk out safely. Why? Because a drainage project by the Srinagar Municipal Corporation has blocked our only access route. The digging started weeks ago. It hasn't stopped. And it's made our homes feel more like cages.

Imagine having an elderly parent who needs to go to the hospital. Or a child who suddenly falls sick. You call an ambulance, and it can't reach you. You try to carry the person out on foot through slush, gravel, and the sharp edges of open construction. The thought itself is terrifying.