The Hindu : New Delhi News : Inside Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Inside Delhi

Park without parking

The Millennium Indraprastha Park on Ring Road has really shaped up beautifully and coming up on a landfill site has shown how some good planning can do wonders. But, constructed by Delhi Development Authority, it also shows how lack of foresight has been and still continues to remain one of the weak points of this land-owning agency.

The longest park of Delhi, stretching over three kilometres, the Indraprastha Park was always expected to be a major draw among the people of East Delhi, Central Delhi and South Delhi. Coming up along Ring Road at the intersection of National Highway 24, it provided just the right kind of getaway to the teeming millions living in these parts of the city.

But while the rush was always on the cards, the planners, who invested crores into making the greens, overlooked the parking requirements. Space was created for barely a hundred vehicles. And the result of this short-sightedness is now there to be seen.

On every Sunday and public holiday there is a great rush of fun-seekers at this park. And the parking lots fill up in no time. Thereafter, the vehicles occupy every nook and cranny their drivers are able to find on the green lawns along the parking lots and even the pavements.

However, even that proves grossly insufficient and so hundreds of private vehicles end up lining along the Ring Road and blocking the passage of other vehicles. This being the scenario now when the park is yet to become a household name, one shudders to think about the traffic fallout once it really acquires the popularity of Boat Club lawns near India Gate. Going by the facilities -- like food outlets, amphitheatre and swings -- the park is on the way of possessing, that day does not look too distant and so it is high time that the parking needs are addressed keeping the ground reality in mind.

Miss myopic

A car parked in the middle of a narrow lane is a sight as irritating as it is common, but when an attempt to correct the misdemeanour fails, it only leaves behind frayed tempers.

Annoyed with one such disorderly parking, this friend decided to leave a note for the driver of the offending vehicle. Using a thick black pen on a sheet of white paper in bold letters she wrote a note: "Please learn where and how to park.'' To ensure that the driver saw the note, she stuck the paper beneath the wiper of the car.

With a lighter heart, this friend reversed her vehicle and slowly backed out of the lane. Just as the car was about to turn a corner, this friend saw a woman emerge from a building and walk towards the offending vehicle. With a sense of righteousness, she stopped her car to observe the scene.

But even the best-laid plans sometimes fail and when it comes to human nature, one can never be sure. As the lady took her seat behind the wheel, this friend anxiously looked on, waiting for the note to be discovered. But much to the astonishment of this friend, the lady stepped on the accelerator and drove off without paying the slightest attention to the note!

If the driver's powers of observation do not reach out even to the windscreen, it is frightening to consider the situation on the road.

Masterstroke

Politicians are known for making use of every available opportunity to expand their vote banks. At times they come out with innovative ideas that leave a lasting impression on the voter's mind.

For instance, the Congress Councillor from Janakpuri, Sanjay Puri, sent out different sets of New Year greetings to his electorate this year. After compiling a list of voters on the basis of religion, community and caste, he purchased a different set of greeting cards for each. To Hindus, he sent greetings with pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses. To Sikhs, he sent greetings containing pictures of Sikh gurus, while pictures of Mahavir in a meditating posture were despatched to Jains. Similarly, Sai Baba photos were sent to devotees of Sai Baba and a different set of greetings to the Christians in his area.

"Such greetings are never thrown into the dustbin. Instead, they occupy pride of place in the house. Every time they see the greetings, they remember me. At a time when every vote matters, I reach every household in a simple and economical way," said Mr. Puri.

DTC quislings

Besides inefficient management, one of the major reasons for the mounting losses of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) is the unfaithfulness of its employees, particularly drivers and conductors operating its fleet in the Capital who connive with private bus operators to make DTC's coffers bleed.

Often it is seen that DTC bus drivers and conductors allow private buses to overtake them or do not stop at bus stops so that the latter could get maximum passengers at the cost of DTC's operation by not letting its buses run to full capacity. And for such "deals", DTC drivers and conductors get their "share" from the private bus operators. All such negative tactics on the part of the DTC employees are costing the Corporation dearer.

For instance, this past Sunday one DTC bus and a private city bus plying on route 740 between Anand Vihar ISBT and Uttam Nagar left the bus terminal almost at the same time. Between the bus terminal and Mother Dairy, the DTC bus was moving ahead of the private bus and maximum passengers were boarding the former.

Realising that they were losing out to the DTC bus, the private bus operator's employees approached the DTC bus driver near Mother Dairy and had a small chat. What conspired between them became obvious as the private bus immediately overtook the DTC bus. The DTC driver then deliberately slowed down his bus giving advantage to the private operator to get passengers.

All this happened when only around 20 per cent of the journey had been completed. For the rest of the route, the private operator drew full mileage at the cost of the DTC bus. Such scenes on Delhi roads have become a routine affair as despite people's preference to board DTC buses, its own employees are letting down Delhiites.

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar, Anjali Dhal Samanta, Lalit K. Jha and Sandeep Joshi

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi