A Copenhagen-style Future for Lal Chowk

Srinagar can join global city centres that grew stronger by choosing clean mobility over more traffic and fumes.

- Hidayat Bukhari

Cities everywhere are rethinking how people move through their busiest streets.

From Istanbul’s Sultanahmet to the walkable promenades of Copenhagen, the idea stays the same: a city works best when its heart breathes, instead of choking on traffic.

As Srinagar plans its own mobility shift, especially around Lal Chowk and nearby markets, the global push for clean energy, shared transport, and people-friendly spaces feels more important than ever.

Srinagar's historic centre sees tens of thousands of people every day. Students rush to classes, office workers squeeze through tight schedules, families visit hospitals, shopkeepers lift their shutters, and tourists arrive to feel the pulse of the city.

On a typical weekday, around 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles enter the wider Lal Chowk area through MA Road, Residency Road, Dalgate, Jehangir Chowk and nearby routes.

What stands out is how people choose to travel.

More than 60% of these vehicles are private cars and two-wheelers. But they carry less than 20% of the total commuters.

Most people are moving in the least space-efficient way, taking up the most road space while transporting the fewest passengers.

This is where small, clean-energy vehicles like e-rickshaws can shift the balance.

An e-rickshaw uses only about 3 to 5 kWh of electricity for a full charge. That is roughly equal to just half a litre of petrol. One charge usually covers 70 to 90 kilometres, which means it can make many short trips in a day without releasing any tailpipe pollution.

On the other hand, a regular petrol car emits 120 to 150 grams of CO for every kilometre it travels.