OUR
CROWDED ROADS
Roads… no, I am not talking of the quality – or lack
of it – of our roads, for once. While that may still be a problem in more than
a few areas, that is still small stuff, really – as compared to the far bigger
issue that confronts us with regard to roads. An issue that is not too evident,
and yet is increasingly a pressing concern; or, at least – should certainly be
a pressing concern for all of us. Not just Indians – but every single resident
of this planet.
We worry about the environment – or pretend to, at
any rate; that, at least, gets into the newspapers with surprising regularity –
not least thanks to a certain Gentleman bearing the first name “Donald”. It
does deserve every bit of news space it occupies; that I grant – the environment,
I mean. That we don’t do much about it in our personal lives is another matter
entirely. I don’t blame the people – those who don’t do much, that is. The environment
is going to be just fine for them, in
their lifespans, and thus, they have little to worry about, if you really think
about it.
RIVERS OF
TRAFFIC!
What I am referring to is something far simpler –
the traffic, the abundance of traffic, or should I say, the rivers of traffic
on our tiny teensy weensy roads. And I refer to the arteries as well – those teeny
weeny 4 and 8 lane – aah- {forgive me,
Civil Engineering / English / Oxford / Merriam Webster et al} – Highways. My
heart would ache for the torture they endure were they human. Luckily, they aren’t
human, and they aren’t alive. Lucky for us – they would have run away to
another Galaxy, leaving us Humans without Roads, had they been alive!
IS THIS
PROGRESS?
I have observed the bumper-to-bumper traffic in any
number of cities in India; this spans Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chandrapur,
Amravati, Indore, Bhopal, Raipur and many more. The sheer waste of resources,
time and effort is staggering; so much so, that I gave up my personal vehicle
altogether. And I will try my best to continue to use the public transport as
far as is possible. A 40 minute journey takes 2 hours – no, am not talking of Mumbai. I am speaking of
other cities. It staggers the mind, and leaves me wondering – is this really
progress?
WHY NOT
POOL?
Furthermore, it is even more staggering to see cars
with one driver on the road frequently… why not car pool? Not to save cash –
but to save your time, money, effort, free up time for productive work – I do
one hell of a lot of productive work in the commute, for instance – and much
much more. But this isn’t limited to cars alone; why don’t bikers also pool
rides? Sure, it will be difficult, will involve some compromises. But I have
done it for 5 years, and from experience – I can say that it is doable,
eminently so.
IT DOES
MEAN COMPROMISE – BUT DO IT ALL THE SAME!
Sure, it requires compromise, sacrifice, a
redefinition and redesigning for your lifestyle. You will certainly have to
walk a lot more – but isn’t that great? I for one have benefited one hell of a
lot from the additional walking. And no one is asking you to give up
permanently – just cut down – even 3 days a week of a compromise to start is
good enough. The time that is saved, can be used to better your enjoyment; like
I use the time to listen to Marathi Music, or reading a good book; which I
would otherwise not be able to do in a 14-hour day. For the commute time will remain essentially the same, given the
traffic.
WHY DO WE
NEED TO DO IT AND NOW?
The question is, why do you need to do it? Because
roads are finite; land is finite. And new vehicles are being added every day,
numbering hundreds of thousands, in every city, street, town and village. Add
to that the increasing urbanization rate, and population influx to the cities.
Add to that the burgeoning population of India. Put it all together – and the
picture becomes crystal clear. You need
to do it, else in a few decades, maybe just one decade – the situation might
become impossible.
Where do you think the new additional vehicles will
be driven? What is the capacity of the roads we have, and how many are using
them? Traffic Jams are already a regular issue in nearly every city; and yet,
no one does anything. Oh sure, we complain about the Government. Question again is – what are we, the people –
doing about it? Cant you get off the roads three days a week? I have gotten off
for 4.5 of the past 5.5 years. Sure – it has come at a price. But, I have the
satisfaction of knowing I, personally, have contributed albeit in a very small
way towards building my nation.
IN
SUMMATION
Every additional vehicle on our roads adds to the
pressure, it adds to the pollution, it adds a few seconds to the commute time;
it adds to body stress, it adds to illnesses, it adds to wastage of time. It is quite possibly among the biggest
productivity losses we as a nation are having. How many hours are wasted –
a sheer total waste? And how simple it would be to find a better way utilize
that time – admittedly at some inconvenience to our ownselves?
The payback – time saved, money saved, and
best of all – a decided improvement in the health parameter. Not just due to
the additional physical activity, but most critically due to the lessening of
stress, and more positive involvement of the mind! You deserve it, your
family deserves it, and most of all your nation needs it. Give up your vehicle
3 days a week!
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