TIME TO START BUILDING ROADS: The rains are over and the sun is shining bright and warm. So can we start building the roads, please? I have been living in Delhi since my very yearly school days and I have noticed one thing--- every monsoon it is the same story. As for the rest of the country, well I do not see much difference there too---floods in Bihar, West Bengal, parts of South India and of course flooding in the streets of Mumbai... there’s much more. Every year, the monsoons wreak havoc on the lives of the poor and the down trodden. Newspapers carry pictures of our politicians making an aerial survey. Television channels record the gushing overflowing waters of rivers and streams. Homes are washed away and people’s sufferings continue.
In New Delhi too the story remains the same. This is one time when the car you drive does not really make a difference. Whether it is a Mercedes, an Audi, a Land Rover, a Bentley or an ordinary Maruti Alto, the level playing field is just the same for these machines. The roads are in a mess. It was way back in 1947 that we got our Independence. We celebrate this every year on August 15. I am sure we Indians are very proud of this. I am, and on this day I am happy too, it’s a holiday and I sleep well into the morning, giving no importance to what the Prime Minister has to say from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Because it just does not seem to be making a difference to my life. Why cannot we build good roads? Is it something we cannot ever make?
My questions is, how much of the tax payer’s money is being spent on roads? A lot, I presume. But why is it that the roads are not good? Why does it crack, and break and become craters? My friends from my journalistic fraternity go overboard describing the engine power of a new car that is launched here. But have they ever wondered, where will we drive it? The Municipal Corporation of Delhi says it does not have the funds? Is that an answer? The Chief Minister says we need to plant more trees? Is that an answer? Now that the rains are over, can someone start building roads? Am I asking for the moon? Does not an average Indian need a good road to travel? Does he not deserve a good infrastructure? So why is the government not doing something? It’s not rocket science, but we can build a clean India. Is there one politician in this country who would like to make India cleaner and better? Please come forward. It’s a humble request.
Please take steps to clean India, clean our streets, clean our drains, clean our rivers and streams, clean our roads and build fine roads and foot paths. Please build multi-storey parking lots. Is this a huge task? Is there a politician tuned in?
Punnoose Tharyan, Editor, Motown India and Car N Style ptharyan@gmail.com
