Declining city-core of an Indian primate city: A case study of Srinagar city

The index of primacy for Srinagar works out to be 9.95 for two city index, 4.22 for four city index 5.56 for eleven city index at the regional level. City core has always been a spatial location of significance, though its characteristic qualities have been varied considerably both spatially and temporally. The area is the heart, the brain and the soul of the entire urban organism (Sita, K. et al, 1988: 13). The city core is the hub of various functions varying from education to health, administrative, trade, traffic etc. The core area of the Srinagar city encompasses 1,114 hectares of land on both side of river Jhelum. More than 60 percent of the total buildings of core are in poor or dilapidated conditions. The population density of the city core is decreasing (357 persons per hectares in 1981 to 324 persons per hectare in 2001). Urban landscapes are exemplified by the large concentration of population and fast expansion of urban zones which lead to alteration in the land use and land cover configuration that consequently impacts the landscape environment (Long et al., 2008). The problems of Srinagar city is becoming critical with the increase in population and deterioration in existing level of services which are assuming serious propositions in all aspect of urban living and are extremely critical in major sectors of sewerage, drainage, traffic and transportation, housing for urban poor, conservation of natural or cultural heritage. Besides, an improved mode of traffic has degraded the quality of environment in the core. With the result, the streets of the city core are becoming not only congested but narrow as well.