Fear of traffic chaos spoils the festive season fun
With the beginning of Navratra last week which also kick-starts the festive season that goes on for about two months leaving people in a joyous mood. However, that mood is tempered by the knowledge that across India, there will be traffic chaos on the streets, which now also affects the smaller cities as they are perhaps led by the `example’ set by major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkatta, Ahemdabad, Hyderabad amongst others.
Millions will have to spend hours in the traffic, stuck on the roads breathing noxious fumes that could otherwise have been spent with their families. Despite large investments in public transport across India, poor traffic management especially in commercial areas have made matters worse.
And this is not just the fault of the traffic police, lack of proper zoning regulations and enforcement have led to commercial areas being built up in the middle of residential zones. And then there is also the lack of civic sense, as people will happily block traffic for their own convenience.
In fact, it is the last factor that is completely in our own control and many of us blithely ignore it. However, as the Biblical saying goes, ‘Let he who has not sinned, cast the first stone’, and I will admit that I have also been guilty of infractions in the past, even if it was for a few minutes. While there are many factors that can be improved from the quality of city roads and the availability of parking areas, the first step can be made by ourselves by not only increasing usage of public transport but also being better citizens.
The authorities will have to step up also, better planning for parking is a must. While some multi-storey parking lots have been established in Delhi and Mumbai, many more need to be built. The traffic police will need to manage traffic better and clamp down on illegal parking. And of course, municipalities and public works departments will need to fix the roads. We have to make the festive season an occasion to celebrate, not an occasion to be stuck in a car or motorcycle.
Traffic, transport and road experts says that wrongful parking too creates a traffic menace and the problem augments during the festive season. Markets and the peripheral localities are choked due to the vehicle chaos. “We have been imposing heavy penalty on wrong parking on the roads still vehicle users need to understand first that they should be responsible. Chandni Chowk area used to be full of chaos. Now a systematic plan is in place for last couple of years as no vehicles are allowed in the main arterial roads,” said a senior Delhi Traffic Police official.
