The Hindu : New Delhi News : Traffic jams order of the day

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 04, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Traffic jams order of the day

With the traffic on Delhi's roads increasing menacingly due to addition of hundreds of new cars and two-wheelers every day, the Government agencies have still not realised the gravity of the situation or announced any emergency measures to improve the state of roads to ensure better traffic management in the Capital. As a result, the waiting time at each traffic light is increasing, leading to colossal waste of fuel and increase in atmospheric pollution.

Long traffic jams have become the order of the day not only on main peripheral roads connecting major areas of the Capital but also on routes connecting Delhi with the neighbouring townships of Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. While the widening of the national highway connecting the Capital with Gurgaon is well behind schedule, there is still no sign of a proper thoroughfare coming up to connect Faridabad.

Though the problem is not that grave when it comes to travelling to Noida mainly due to the broad and good quality roads, the pressure of traffic is increasing rapidly on the national highway connecting Ghaziabad and some sectors of Noida. Boom in the real estate business in the four main areas of Ghaziabad -- Kaushambi, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Indirapuram -- has led to a massive increase in traffic on this highway between Delhi and Lucknow.

The Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments might have announced projects to widen the national highway between Delhi and Ghaziabad, but the undue delay in starting the work on the highway is further aggravating the traffic problem. As a result, chaos and long traffic jams on this stretch, mainly due to lackadaisical attitude of the traffic police personnel, are causing unnecessary harassment to commuters and motorists day in and day out.

Sandeep Joshi

A grand outing

The investiture ceremonies at Rashtrapati Bhavan held to confer civilian and defence honours on eminent people of the country are not only special occasions for those getting the awards but often a treat for those who come to watch. They offer a chance for friends and family to soak in the grandeur and the overwhelming pride of the moment of being recognised by the First Citizen of the country in the breathtaking ornate setting of Ashoka Hall.

Sitting quietly, all dressed up for the day, it is usually the first taste of the formal "traditions" of Rashtrapati Bhavan for most -- the fanfare that accompanies the President when he walks in, the band playing the National Anthem and the guard keeping a watch peering through the thick blue velvet curtains to signal the arrival of the President.

For most first-timers a visit to Ashoka Hall can literally be a pain in the neck with it being impossible not to gasp at the detailed miniatures that are spread across the ceiling like a carpet alive with stories.

While children use their time after the event to grab autographs of people they know and recognise, the adults get to rub shoulders with the men in power they have only seen on television so far. For some lucky children, it is also a chance to actually get to experience the famed approachability of President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam who always smiles and talks to them.

From Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- who interacts informally with scribes waiting on the sidelines to get a little extra on a story -- to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the awardees, their families and friends get to feel special. All in all a grand outing, especially for those who have not sampled the elaborate tea at President's Estate.

-- Mandira Nayar

Month of new arrivals

This April, Penguin India will unveil four of its most-sought-after non-fiction books of the year.

Topping the non-fiction list is Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's book "Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny" that was released in the Capital this past week. In the book, the noted economist argues that most of the conflicts in the contemporary world arise from our notions of who we are and which group we belong to.

Also being launched this month is "Ayodhya 6 December 1992", the late Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's definitive account of the Babri Masjid demolition by Hindu fundamentalists.

The third book, internationally renowned journalist-cum-writer Edna Fernandes's "Holy Warriors: A Journey into the Heart of Indian Fundamentalism", is a significant account of encounters with religious fanaticism. Finally, the month will see the publication of what is expected to be the biggest new-age sensation of the year - "Code Name God: The Spiritual Odyssey of a Man of Science" by Mani Bhaumik, one of the pioneers of laser technology that has made the corrective eye surgery Lasik possible. The book demonstrates how both spirituality and science are essential for human beings and how one could strike a perfect balance between the two.

- Madhur Tankha

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