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Motivation

through e-mail

Making waves the "e-way", the common man has found a faithful companion in e-mail that is being used increasingly to build communication bridges across the entire country.

This particular e-mail has been doing the rounds of cyber space creating awareness and motivating people to stand up against the all too frequent sharp increases in petrol and diesel prices in the country.

Thus goes this now very popular e-mail: "Petrol in Pakistan is Rs.17 per litre and in Malaysia Rs.18 per litre, while in India it's Rs.48 per litre. Why this difference in Asia itself? World market for crude oil is not the reason for this. We have to raise our voice. Let's raise it through e-mails.''

Asking Indians to take a stand, the e-mail states: "It has been calculated that if everyone did not purchase a drop of petrol for one day and all at the same time, the oil companies would choke on their stockpiles. It would hit the entire industry with a net loss of over 4.6 billion dollars. Therefore Thursday September 22 has been formally declared as the day when people of the nation should come together and not purchase a single drop of petrol.''

"We can make a difference -- and if they don't get the message after one day, we will do it again. So do your part and spread the word. Enough is Enough,'' goes the e-mail.

-- Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Faulty service lanes

The concept of having service lanes alongside major roads appears to be a faulty one as more often than not these lanes end up being either encroached upon or are full of potholes and construction material which renders them useless. A case in point is the service lane alongside the main road running from Ghazipur Crossing to Anand Vihar Inter-State Bus Terminal.

The entire service lane -- running a length of nearly two kilometres -- is almost completely unusable. While most of the stretch towards Ghazipur Crossing is dug up and the road is a big dirt track on which rally drivers can test their skills, the other half that is supposed to cater to a variety of commercial establishments that exist on the road is usually chock-a-block with parked vehicles or is used by vendors to sell their wares.

Those using the road -- which remains clogged most part of the day due to office-goers and at night due to trailer trucks and container trucks that use it -- hold the view that it would have been better had the Urban Development Department shown greater foresight and expanded the road right to the edges.

This would not only have kept it clear of all encroachments, it would have also ensured that the departments that are supposed to maintain the road would have kept it in shape. Moreover, the biggest advantage of broadening the road would have been that it would have allowed traffic to move with consummate ease. By moving all the parked vehicles, pedestrians and other road users to the extreme left, it would have allowed the remaining space to the motorists.

Ironically, the planners do not realise that service lanes are meaningful only at places where enforcement is strong enough to keep them clear and usable for slow moving vehicles and pedestrians. Even in Noida one finds the Authority enamoured of the idea of making service lanes. There is a definite need to look at the issue afresh in the light of the population pressure on the roads so that there is optimum utilisation of available resources.

-- Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Speed-breakers

The busy stretch of Ring Road between Sarai Kale Khan and Maharani Bagh has become a nightmare for motorists. The Delhi Government's failure to properly maintain the nearly 500-metre-long section not only causes traffic snarls but also makes it an accident-prone zone.

Interestingly, despite the Delhi High Court order asking civic agencies to remove all unnecessary speed-breakers from across the city, this stretch on Ring Road still has unmarked rumble-strips at three places, making it dangerous for motorists to drive, particularly at night.

Two of these speed-breakers are on the flyover above the Delhi-Noida-Delhi flyway near Maharani Bagh. As the flyover has a steep curve, speed-breakers have been constructed to ensure that motorists slow down their vehicles to avoid any accident. But these two speed-breakers in the form of numerous rumble-strips are so close by that they virtually bring the high-density traffic to a standstill, leading to long traffic jams right up to Sarai Kale Khan. On the other hand, there is no speed-breaker at the place where Ring Road meets the DND flyway.

The problem has aggravated due to the faulty design of the speed-breakers, while recently potholes have developed at many places on this stretch making it more difficult for motorists to drive.

While the State Government talks of making Ring Road signal-free to ensure an uninterrupted drive for motorists, why this particular stretch has not attracted its attention is anybody's guess.

-- Sandeep Joshi

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