- Trust me, the subject matter would not only cross the minds of every citizen living in the Karnataka capital of Bengaluru more than once but also would never fail to evoke a passionate retort while suggesting ways and means to curb the increasing menace. I am certain that two topics in the country will always lead to a passionate debate among the citizens. One is the game of cricket which is treated as no less than a religion in the country for its unfathomable popularity. Second is none other than the traffic snarls witnessed in some of the best-known metropolitan cities. The unimaginable traffic challenges encountered by the daily commuters are a sad tale that cannot be addressed satisfactorily by the authorities concerned despite raising red flags.
PC: Priya Chowdhury
- Take any metropolitan cities in the country viz. In New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, or for that matter Bengaluru, the commuters are bound to narrate horrible tales of getting struck in the traffic for hours on. The situation gets more accentuated whenever the rain gods decide to bless us with torrential downpours. It is best left to the imagination of the people to conjure up images of miles-long traffic logjams alongside flooding of waters from all sides rendering the commuter to the mercy of the unknown. We all have experienced such situations on more than one occasion, cursed the civic administration in the choicest of words, blamed our misfortunes, generally surrendered to our fate, and moved on.
- We have heard from every state government reasserting their commitment to ensuring that basic amenities like motorable roads, potable water, and uninterrupted power are the topmost priority for the Silicon Valley of India. Every time such grandiose announcements are made, the majority of the positive-minded citizens are more than hopeful that something concrete will be visible on the ground sooner than later. But such hopes soon give way to despondency as the commitment made remains on paper and the citizens are left in the lurch to face the irresponsible and insensitive administration failing to provision a basic amenity like proper commutable roads. It is simply disgusting to even look at the way roads are filled with potholes.
PC: Orjan F. Ellingvag
- The general apathy of the administration is quite visible when the number of accidents leading to the death of innocent commuters in the absence of proper commutable roads is treated as a routine occurrence. Save for the usual condolence messages pouring from the enraged citizens and the civic agency ascertaining that the personnel responsible for failing to maintain the roads will be brought to justice, nothing palpable happens. As they say, life must go on and we are back to our daily routine, so does the government’s apathy in looking the other way. Is it too much to expect some of the most basic amenities from the elected government? Not at all. Why then the continued apathy in executing the work satisfactorily? If you have answers, kindly share them.
