“A PERFECT PANORAMA”
By
J.L. GUPTA
The Indian roads present a perfect panorama. We
have the Autos. Bikes, buses. Bullock & Pony carts. Cars & creaking camel carts.
Cycles & cycle rickshaws. Trucks, Tractors & trolleys. Anything from an old Ambassador to a Fiat and
a Ferrari. So much of vehicular variety on just one road. Also a cacophony of
sounds. Smell & stink of all sorts of fumes. Equally irritating to the ears
& eyes. Causing respiratory congestion & cough. An avoidable wastage of
precious petroleum & time. Traffic jams have become a regular routine on
our roads. Sometimes, the pedestrians move faster than the fastest cars on the
road. Why? What is the cause? What is the way out?
 |
| The wide variety of vehicles on a road. |
1.
Reducing
congestion on the roads is a national imperative. To achieve this, an efficient, affordable and reliable public transport system is the first requirement. It should be good and be used by all – the Ministers, Senior Officers and the people. Use
of Government and private cars should be totally banned or made substantially more
expensive by withdrawing the concessions of free petrol etc. available to the Government
cars. No caravans with blaring sirens and red beacons (an unmitigated nuisance
on the road) should be normally permitted for anyone. Even raising the parking charges
can help. The money thus saved or collected can be used for improving the
existing public transport system.
 |
| The Pony Cart in Chandigarh |
The condition of the NH speaks for itself
Not fit for even the bullock carts
3.
In the
cities, the young and physically fit should be compulsorily made to use only bicycles.
It is already a practice in various countries. To illustrate: In Netherland,
most of the people can be seen on cycles. The cycle is picked up from a parking
lot, used and dropped at the next stop. It keeps the people fit & healthy;
saves on petrol, precious foreign exchange and also helps in reducing the
environmental pollution.
4.
The
space required for a cycle on the road is much lesser than that for any other
kind of vehicle. The number of vehicles per person in Europe may be
substantially higher than those in India. But the traffic jams are far fewer.
The roads are better.
5.
It
should also help reduce the number of accidents and resultantly, the claims for
compensation against the Government or the Insurers.
Shall we
do something? We have to. Otherwise, the traps for which the govt. is charging
toll may soon take their own toll of the govt.
That India has high level of noise pollution and ever increasing vehicular smoke in its environment, is experienced by one and all. Chandigarh the city beautiful stands choked by too many cars and sees several accidents a day. Most of it is due to poor management of transport system. If remedial measures are not taken this city beautiful will cease to be worthy of living!
ReplyDeleteVery well-written and illustrated with appropriate photographs. Considering the drain of Nation's resources, the transport as well as the security detail accompanying the so-called VIPs should be stopped at once. Tighter regulations needs to be made and enforced. Understanding of the need to curb unnecessary usage of motor vehicles must be included in the curriculum of education. It is a paradox that the RULERS, who proclaim themselves SERVANTS of the masses at public gatherings, travel with numerous vehicles carrying their security detail, thus refuting the fact that the general masses are not safe, since these so called servants need protection. Is this the case? What happened during the time of terror in Punjab? These same people used to travel without beacons, without any security vehicles lest they were identified as VIP and became the targets of those reigning terror.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the road manners, we still are better off in cities like Chandigarh. But... How many of us have experienced or witnessed any Traffic person educating anyone on the road? All they are seen doing is handing out challans. Except at the time when a VIP has to pass through on a certain road, they are seldom seen managing traffic. It is a frequent sight to see them standing towards one side, near a traffic jam, without any active intervention. Public as a whole has to be more responsible. Your suggestion in the article about bicycling is well taken. After becoming a bicycle owner myself a few months ago and filled with "transient" pride to be able to contribute a drop in the ocean in the well-being of the society while simultaneously improving my health, my dream was cut short by the ill-managed traffic. Blessed to be residing in Chandigarh, where we have cycle tracks adjoining important roads, cycling on any of these is a nightmare. One, they are filled with potholes. Second, all kinds of vehicular traffic can be encountered while riding on these tracks including scooters, motorcycles, cars, horse-carts, making this route as dangerous, if not more, than the adjacent roads. Third, if you happen to cycle during the pre-dawn hours or later on during the nascent morning, you most likely are going to encounter many people walking their dogs on these tracks, and you have to swerve off the track to avoid the anti-Rabies shots. Lastly, these tracks are so poorly light making it impossible to ride in the dark, even with a powerful bicycle light mounted. What is the condition of cyclists in other cities/towns can well be imagined.
The only solution I can think of encouraging this mode of transport, for a start, is to mark a few roads as motor-free zones for a few hours a day.
A strong and aggressive approach to start a well-connected and efficient public transport is the need of the hour. It will do away with the pollution (air, noise and visual ), will be economical, speedy and leave wide spaces in the city intact, which are being rapidly gobbled up as parking zones.
A public opinion and suitable action is required right now to leave the "City Beautiful" beautiful, for generations to come.
Justice gupta is right that the cacophony of sounds should be checked and reduced . many measures have been selected approved and disregarded or turned the blind eye to by most of us . traffic rules are violated with umpunity resulting in unforeseen mishapannings. A change is needed in all of us.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were young, we were told that it was the rough road which would lead us to success. Little did we know that these rough roads were leading us to doomsday. Little did we realize that these roads do not lead us to our destination. Truly we need to wake up and take notice.
ReplyDeleteUncleji, you have highlighted a critical issue that requires urgent action from the governmental authorities. Your suggested paths will certainly alleviate the ubiquitous traffic anguishes although one of the suggested measures - “In the cities, the young and physically fit should be compulsorily made to use only bicycles” seems to be draconian. Also the reference to Netherlands as an example is skewwhiff. The use of bicycles in Holland and other Nordic countries is entirely voluntary. The compelling force happens to be citizen’s own civic sense; health cognizance and respect for the environment; and the desire to conserve resources. Long ago, Dutch urban planners started to diverge from the car-centric road-building policies that were being pursued in other urbanising European countries. Dutch and Danes designed segregated bicycle paths that assured safety of the bicycle users.
ReplyDeleteWhile the perilous road conditions pose the greatest annoyance and the associated hazards, human factor remains the main ingredient in this disastrous recipe. We can blame the Mughals, the British, the Nehrus, the BJP/RSS wallas and even the highway authorities all we want, but it is really us, the people, that need to change.
We, Indians have a strange perception of freedom. We have conveniently forgotten about our fundamental duties and just remember our fundamental rights. We are essentially elitist. Everyone wants to prove by all means that he is better than the next man. So, honking, racing, overtaking on the wrong side of the road and whatever, we have to be the first. We are hard wired to compete. As far as to the civic responsibility, we believe in "इस से मेरा क्या लेना-देना?".
Discipline, moral values and nationalism are qualities one learns from home. The environment in which one is brought up determines the rate of imbibing these values. If the parents are not sensitive to cleanliness, proper disposal of waste, basic road and civic sense, it is difficult for the children to realize until they are grown up. Most of the drivers on Indian roads are adults and mature. If their road sharing behaviour is unacceptable and deplorable then nothing different could be expected from their children. In addition to teaching the children about our great culture and heritage, they should also be reminded that in fact India ranked 119-134 in the Human Development Index, and this ranking could only improve if everyone participated in cleaning up the environs and behaved properly on and off the roads.
Permitting bicycles on the roads before educating the riders about road sense and sharing the road is an invitation to disaster. The Danes, the Dutch and the French and the rest of western world cyclists are disciplined people and respect other’s right to share the road. An undisciplined Indian cyclist could be as hazardous to others as him driving an automobile.
Please drive safely. I wish you all a very happy New Year
Jai Hind