A Deccan Chronicle photo
If you build, they will come - and fill it up in no time! The new flyover built for solving the traffic problem is filled up as soon as it was opened for traffic! The city is trying to catch up with increased traffic by widening the streets and by building such flyovers, but with the number of new two-wheelers and new cars coming onto the streets every day you sit in traffic jams for 1-2 hours. And even if you don't sit without moving, it is common to spend 30-45 minutes to travel 6-8 km. This picture is from the popular local newspaper Deccan Chronicle.
In spite of emission tests, vehicles (especially buses) emit a lot of smoke. It is just horrible to travel on two-wheelers and in auto rickshaws as the smoke from the exhaust hits you right in the face, especially when the traffic is moving very slowly. Things are really bad for the traffic policemen who man the street crossings. They are exposed to vehicle exhaust and blaring horns. Recently, I read a news item that said the traffic cops will be provided oxygen but they have to go into police stations to get their dose. There was talk of banning air horns but it hasn't happened yet. Even if they ban, it would be one of those laws that cannot be implemented, and there are quite a few of those. In cities like Pune, women who ride two-wheelers cover their head and face with a large scarf and they wear long gloves that cover their arms to protect themselves from the exhaust and dust, but for some reason the girls here don't do so.
"Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology" -Alan Eddison
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