Road between potholes & Pune in it!!!

As everybody in the Pune city knows that when there are rains, the traffic in the city just goes haywire. Why? Well the standard of roads, especially the main roads, no proper signals to tame the traffic on the busiest roads or junctions and when the police are helping to better the situation no one seems to take notice and or cares. This in turn leads to air and sound pollution, stress and related problems, anger just to name few. All this happens in one of the best cities to live in India, one of the most literate I guess and an upcoming business destination. I wonder what the city roads are made of, sugar or something! Whenever rains fall the tar on the roads just seem to dissolve leaving the moonscape behind. Who are the road contractors who build these roads using the taxpayers’ money? I am sure if the contractors ever come face to face with the people, they surely will be beaten for the atrocious job they have done over the years. Well it is common sense.

The solution to the traffic and related problems is just good roads. If the roads are plain and leveled especially the big squares (chowks) and many main roads like Laxmi road, Karve road, which probably carry some of the biggest traffic loads at any time of the day in the city, the traffic would move at a constant pace. Is it difficult to make good roads like the Jangli Maharaj road? Wouldn’t the whole city benefit from good roads?

In addition, there is only one easy link through the city connecting Kothrud; the Law college road. Traffic jams have been plaguing that road for the past 4-5 years. There is a dire need to find and alternate route to Law College road just to ease the traffic I think Apart from that instead of the making helmets compulsory some strict action should be taken on the people disobeying traffic rules, also on polluting vehicles both private and those owned by the government.

I think all this would drastically help to improve the situation. Let's hope.

Well after the original article was written, everyday the papers published deadlines by officials to repair the roads, many views and writeups on the condition of the roads in Pune. But what do you think, will the roads ever be made better? I don't think so. The roads will still be patched up instead of laying them all at once. And during the rains next year the same old bloody story.

(Part of this article was published in the Times of India dated September 1 2005.)

More later!