The Grey Carpets of my City

Buzz, Honk, Peep, Pomp and variety of such horns were filling the atmosphere. Vehicle exhausts were emitting every kind of polluting substances. Few ears were taking their important calls while few others were busy in finding every possible way to reach the front row. Amongst all such nuisance, I stood steady at a place waiting for the signal to go green. Nearly 30 seconds left. With every passing second I thought about what I had to face as soon as I crossed the signal. The traffic light turned green but I believe it was a mere formality. Half of the crowd had already crossed the square when the light was yellow. With a deep sigh, I moved ahead. Lost in my thoughts, I forgot about a big pothole that laid in front of me. Bump! My activa shook and so did I. "Urghhh! I hate the roads of Indore." On my way to home, I encountered uncountable potholes and badly damaged roads. But, so audacious are the Indoreans that they move through these ups and downs with the least irritation. Instead, I should say that they all got habitual of these roads.

Roadways are the means of transport. They are boon to mankind...etc. These words only enhance the decorum of a Social Studies book. Practically in Indore, roadways are the means of troubling people and their vehicles. Sympathy to the engines of all the vehicles. The situations worsen during the rains. But no blames on the curly, black clouds as they dutifully bring the rains. Who are to be blamed must not be named here! Shhhhh... I guess everybody knows it very well.

Projects are launched to convert four lane roads to six lane roads, construct footpaths for pedestrians and the most recent one, construction of special lanes for the city buses. These schemes are launched enthusiastically but the construction work progresses with a snail's speed. Often a single road is tarred over and over again making it considerably thick. And the most depressing part is that this over-tarring is not done over a stretch, rather in patches. Roads are diverted for the construction purposes but we, Indoreans cleverly divert a one way road into a two way road. During the night, these potholes loose their existence and one is forced to move like a caterpillar. Up-Down!

The massive, gigantic cranes easily destroy the houses of poor people but when a similar situation dawns upon the houses of resourceful people, six lanes roads are reconverted to four lanes. Moreover, the latest development project of the city authorities (building new lanes for city buses) has barely sustained the significance of a four lane road. In the crowded markets, vehicles occupy half of the roads making them more congested. Uncountable buses are parked on the roadside where they are washed and cleaned and by their grace, the left two lanes are converted to a single lane road. With this situation, how can you not expect a traffic jam? Besides congestion, air pollution, noise pollution and accidents are some surplus bonuses that our grey 'carpets' provide. Out of all this mess, few chosen people are certainly happy as their bank balances increase in manifolds. Oh! How can I forget the doctors and the mechanics? Even they have significantly good earnings by the mercy of these mutilated roads. In one simple statement, the roads in Indore are the harbinger of sorrows and the improper traffic sense of people resembles a cherry on the top of a giant cake.

Situations were similar in the previous years and may remain the same in the coming years (I wish they don't). New projects must be launched but must be sensible. Why not spend the money in building new parking grounds instead of tarring a road over and over? By building city bus lanes, do they ensure that those roads won't be used by commoners? To ensure this, our traffic police must be strict and unbiased. It must be free from corruption. But, what counts to be the most important part is to cultivate traffic sense in public. I appreciate the initiative of traffic department for touring schools and increasing the awareness of students about the traffic rules and regulations. But, at this stage if someone asks me that how do I picture Indore in near future? Well, I have no answer. But I don't loose hope either. I certainly look forward for the day when Indore will actually be an 'A+' metropolitan city. I believe that it will be a dream of every Indorean.