Reports indicate that over ₹100 crore is being spent daily in Bengaluru (TOI,12th April). Yet, for the average citizen, a basic question remains unanswered: why do potholes, poor roads, and traffic disorder continue unchecked?
A recent hospital visit using a call driver reflected the daily reality. What should have been a simple commute turned stressful and unsafe—especially for senior citizens. Driving today requires not just skill, but constant alertness to bad roads, indiscipline, and unpredictability.
Traffic concerns have become the common starting point of conversations everywhere. This is not inevitable—it is a result of gaps in execution, accountability, and civic discipline.
What Is Going Wrong
- Poor road maintenance and delayed pothole repairs
- Encroachments and illegal parking reducing usable road space
- Inefficient traffic signals and lack of synchronization
- Frequent violations: wrong-side driving, signal jumping, rash behaviour
- Weak and inconsistent enforcement
- Safety norms routinely ignored
A sensitive but important concern is the presence of beggars at traffic signals. While this reflects deeper social issues, it also disrupts traffic flow and creates safety risks. This calls for humane rehabilitation, not unchecked continuation.
The Real Impact
- Loss of time and productivity
- Increased stress and health strain
- Safety risks for all road users
- Growing public frustration and loss of trust
Shared Responsibility: Administration & Public
Administration must:
- Ensure time-bound road repairs and quality maintenance
- Introduce efficient, technology-driven traffic systems
- Enforce rules firmly and consistently
- Clear encroachments and regulate parking
Public must:
- Follow traffic rules and respect lane discipline
- Avoid violations and unsafe driving practices
- Cooperate with enforcement and civic norms
The Core Message
Good roads and disciplined traffic are not luxuries—they are basic necessities. They determine how peacefully, safely, and productively people live.
Citizens seek simple things: dignity, safety, and the ability to move easily to workplaces, hospitals, schools, and public services. Efficient connectivity is central to this.
Time to Act
A well-managed traffic system can resolve many of Bengaluru’s daily stresses.
Can we act now—collectively and decisively—before this becomes an accepted way of life?
Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavanthu.
TVG Krishnan
(personal Views)
2 comments:
I believe our governments are dangerously short-sighted and chronically inactive when it comes to long-term planning and foresight. The repeated failure to anticipate future needs is not just poor governance — it is a tragedy, and in many ways, a crime against the public.
By the time a government identifies the need for infrastructure projects, plans them, and finally completes them, the population and the number of vehicles have already multiplied several times over. The newly built roads, flyovers, and city infrastructure soon begin to crumble under the deluge of automobiles they were never designed to handle.
The worst part is the political inconsistency: what one government considers good policy is often discarded or reversed by the next. This toxic political ecosystem has become the biggest stumbling block to sustainable progress and public welfare.
As long as governments continue to chase short-term gains and political mileage, Robert Frost’s famous lines remain painfully relevant:
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Very well said. Those who are in the service of public should be highly conscious of the need to satisfy public expectations, should be able to assess with all powers and funds under their command as to whether the projects planned can take care of at least two decades growth and developments, projects are well executed on time and the quality of the projects is par excellence appreciable by all for its professional expertise and excellence. The loot of public money is a crime and if the results are not helpful or beneficial , that should be exposed and condemned publicly. Trust and Conscience should go together and public welfare cannot be compromised at any cost.
Post a Comment