Bangalore roads

It is only appropriate that I write about the abysmal state of affairs with roads in Bangalore, having stayed here for about 5 years and seen the decadence. With the rains lashing down in the recent past, even the 5 % of roads that were motorable have nearly become bee-hives, only without any beauty associated. This doesnt help the state of affairs with the traffic either.

Last Friday, when I was held up for about 45 minutes in a 1.5 km stretch on Airport Road, I approached the police constable manning the Shanti Sagar signal in Domlur, and got a clear answer on de-congesting the roads. He says he doesnt have an idea what he is doing, nor is his superior officer any better. He asked me to come up with some idea. The superior officer was much worse in terms of courteousness. The default tense for any citizen on the road is in singular, and they dont have pangs about using it. They after all are helpless creatures who dont know anything but wave their hands, standing at signals. The waves dont look regulatory, but like helpless flings, with a prayer in the heart to be saved from this chaos.

I was left wondering if there is anybody in their hierarchy who has an iota of sense in his head to plan the traffic flow properly. I want to say here that though I might come up with a useful suggestion or two on this, I find that the very department whose sole job it is to regulate traffic is clueless and that is a sorry state of affairs. I read that the nexus between the contractors and the bureaucracy is quite huge, and unless stern measures are taken to end it, citizens of this place will never have their basic necessities fulfilled. I am convinced now that Bangalore was never meant to be India's show-piece to the world, and it will never be, if things as basic as these are not taken care of. It is a city that already belongs to the past, and will probably need to be mummified and stashed in the junkyards, and new cities built from the scratch, if this state of affairs continues. I am packing my bags soon.

A Pained and helpless Indian citizen
Subbu