Road to Progress - 4

I am very thrilled with the “Swach Bharat” initiative launched by the Prime Minister of India on October 2, 2014 on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhiji’s birthday.  It is a laudable effort.  It was the need of the hour.  It had to be done.  Somebody had to think of it.  Someone had to lead it.  I always wonder why nobody thought of it ever before.  All previous exercises remained at statement declarations.  Action has always been missing. 

The Aam Aadmi Party, which had the broom as the symbol, used it to focus only on cleansing the political arena.  It never capitalised on the opportunity to rid India of the dirt that you see everyday.  The Prime Minister is not afraid that the political party whose election symbol is the broom would get advantage of it.  There is no way they would be able to leverage it.  The tool was their’s but somebody used it effectively.

There is a lot to gain from this Initiative. Politician’s earlier had talked about converting Mumbai into Shanghai.  That dream is very far from reality.  Tall, glossy buildings do not make a city.  Its basic infrastructure needs to be supportive of that.  One could see a lot of tourists flocking to Mumbai to see its beautiful heritage.  Their numbers have decreased over the years.  Those who do come are on business purpose and there is a difference between the real tourist and the business traveller.

Coming back to the point of “Swach Bharat”.  There is hope that the living conditions of Indian’s will improve. This should lead to people inculcating good habits.   Littering the road with garbage, will hopefully stop.  People will also stop spitting on the roads, from the trains and busses and out of their residential windows.

The real need of this Swach Bharat Abhiyan is not the urban corners of the elite.  It should be targeted rightly at the slum areas.  The Prime Minister did the right thing by launching the initiative from a neglected residential colony and not taking up the Raj Ghat area or other already clean spaces.  Let us hope that the mission planned to spread over five years continues with the same momentum with which it started.  We hope that college students will also take part in this initiative with the same vigour and not become some sort of an article in their annual report.

Just like the Aam Aadmi Party which focussed on cleaning the country of scams and underhand political dealings, but with little success, the Swach Bharat initiative should not only focus on cleanliness of roads and public spaces, building toilets, urinals but it needs to have a multi-dimensional approach.  This could include creating awareness and importance of cleanliness and hygiene in public and private spaces, keeping the country litter free and this can be done through awareness by using the available medium of communication like television, radio and FM channels, street plays to be conducted by theatre groups which could be sponsored by Corporates, stricter enforcement of rules and heavy penalties to defaulters.  Our tourist places need more attention.  They need to be cleaned all the more because people come to see those spots and not the garbage there is.  Hawkers who sell their wares must be made responsible for proper disposal of whatever is left of the packaging after its consumption.  Proper toilet facilities are required there because in their absence, the people resort to open defecation.  Ladies face the most difficult in relieving themselves and that must be a priority.

Let us extend the Swach Bharat initiative to clean the country of so many ills that it is currently suffering from:

• Let us clean corruption from India and make it scam free.
• Let us clean our hearts from the ill-wills that we carry for each other
• Let us clean our mindsets of all biases against the girl child
• Let us clean our nation from the ills of dowry and its related issues.
• Let us clean our judiciary from any political influence or bias of any kind.  Let the judicial process be quick, clean and transparent.  Judiciary is where India’s population have hopes of justice.
• Let us clean our Law Enforcement systems, i.e. the police free from political interference.  Give them a free hand at their task because; a) they are trained for that role; b) they are professional people who should know how to handle a specific situation.  Let us treat them as professionals to, which they are not at present.  The police do not appear as professionals, their morale is on a all-time low, their body language is not positive and always seem under pressure.  Let’s give them a free hand and see for ourselves it impact.
• Let us give our education system.  Our children deserve good education, that is skill based, is practical, is future oriented and employment oriented.
• Let us clean our health care system right from basic health care to tertiary health care and super-speciality.  Let us stop commercial health care organisations from overcharging, from medical malpractices, commissions and practices of receiving kick-backs from the business generated by each other. 
• Let us clean our nation from regional biases.  We are all Indians and must confirm to one belief of a strong and united India.
• Let us offer clean and safe transportation system, specially in the rural areas where masses of people travel in boxes which are poor on maintenance, driven by drunk drivers.  Let’s clean our roads from vehicular obstructions, potholes, encroachments, reduce the number of accidents and the number of deaths caused due to accidents through all modes of transport, i.e. road and train.  Let’ have clean toilets in trains, at State Transport Bus stations, schools, colleges, government institutions.

If all this is accomplished, we will definitely have a Swach Swarg Bharat.

Countrymen, please do your bit.  Not for the photo-opportunity or as a mark of tokenism but as a responsibility that you have towards your nation.

Road to Progress - 3

In my previous blog, I wrote about the autorickshaw (the three-wheeled vehicle used for transportation in India and some parts of Asia but referred by other names).  It is also referred to as Samosa (because an Indian stuffed snack food item is three cornered), a tempo, atuk-tuk, a trishaw, an autorick, a bajaj, a rick, a tricycle, a mototaxi, a baby taxi or lapa in popular parlance.  An auto rickshaw is a usually three-wheeled cabin cycle for private use and as a vehicle for hire.  These three wheeled vehicles are also used in the form of goods transport vehicle, optimal for ferrying goods in small quantities.

The autorickshaw is legendary in a sense.  It has featured not only in Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood and other Indian movies but has even been featured in the Bond Movie Octopussy.  In another movie shot in an another Asian country, the other form of tuk-tuk has been used.  In the UK it is quite a craze but the government will not allow it on safety reasons.  More of it later.

The autorickshaw is a very convenient and affordable means of transport and carry three people and the driver as per the transport authorities.  Three at the rear and one at the handle.  However, this get flouted in big way in cities and towns outside Mumbai where sometimes, you see five or even more than five adjusting themselves to be transported over dirt roads, rural roads an all types of terrain.  Even in some places in Mumbai, you can find the 3+1 rule being flouted right under the scanning eye of the policemen. 

The autorickshaw was perhaps introduced at a time when cars were expensive and personal transportation was way too expensive.  The reach of public transport was not as extensive and also it provided employment opportunities to the uneducated, unskilled youth, people who had to give away their horse driven carts because they were banned in the city and people who could find no other form of employment.  Some autorickshaw drivers have upgraded themselves, some have become owners, some are still driving, some own a fleet of rickshaws of their own, some are driving taxis, some have gone into petty business, others have retired and a new bunch of youngsters join the ranks of autorickshaw drivers.  Travelling in a group of two or more became more economical because the cost got distributed.  Travel time was reduced because you could go from point to point swiftly.  The autorickshaw could easily be meandered between tight lanes and narrow spaces.  Sometimes they were an irritant to the pedestrians as they would be dodged around.  Autorickshaw became a status symbol.  Along came the unions and some got spoilt, refusing fares, overcharging, fleecing passengers by taking longer routes, not carrying enough change and then fussing over the difference over the extra charge for post-midnight service.  Then came the point to point sharing which was pocket-friendly on the passengers, almost at the cost or a little extra than the public transportation fare.

While all this is routine stuff, what I want to bring out here today is something different and at the same time perhaps highlight how the law differentiates between two classes of people.

Until the era of Premier Padmini and Ambassador taxis, the law was lenient because the technology was new.  With the arrival of Maruti 800, the rules started changing.  The Maruti 800 model introduced bucket seats in the car, probably for the first time in India.  It also offered as a standard feature the driver side and the passenger side seat belt.  The transport authorities made it mandatory for all vehicle drivers to fasten the seat-belt while driving.  Initially, it was compulsory for the passenger at the front but now nobody remembers.  I remember, traffic police looking out desperately for drivers not wearing seat belts and they would be issued challans for whatever was the form of punishment.  Some people obliged while others saw it as a hindrance, not realising its importance.  The common argument was that seat belts are a nuisance, they hinder the driver’s movements, getting out and then getting in create a lot of difficult.  The best one was that a car in Mumbai (let’s for the moment be referenced only to Mumbai) hardly gets to go over say 60 and the seat belt would effectively function at high speed and a strong impact.  In Mumbai’s traffic, it was never going to be the case.  Gradually they learnt and adopted because people realised its importance and that it was in their safety and interest to wear the seat belt.  As of today, the policeman is on the look out for dark tinted windows, using cell phone while driving, not wearing seat belt, etc. but happily the incidence of violaters has reduced.

Now this brings us to the importance aspect of equality in the eyes of the law.  Even today, you will find, mini-tempo drivers not wearing seat belt.  Even the second best public transport system in the world, the BEST busses do not have seat belts for their drivers.  Their (driver’s) seats are also a sham in the name of comfort.  The best, the medium and heavy trucks may have standard feature on their products but none of them is seen wearing.  In Mumbai, trucks carrying heavy vehicles zoom across on the state express highways and many vehicles meet with severe accidents.

My concern is that why is the law stringent on four wheel private passenger cars (include the yellow and black and now the radio cabs) while it is completely lax on four-wheeled medium and heavy sized transport vehicles, schools and private busses, auto-vehicles?  Is their safety not a concern for the government?

Other aspects which I would like to touch upon about autorickshaws are its engine noise, not having doors to ensure safety of the passengers, be it rains or just being exposed to articles that can comine flinging right at you, how people squeeze in the small sized rear seat but require more and more space at the rear of the car and complain about how small the car is.  Seating in a passenger car is a status symbol but travelling in an autorickshaw is majboori (having been left with no choice, have to save money, travel quick to short distances, etc.) Is there a mindset problem or what is it? 

If India is a developing country, shouldn’t we have the same rules applicable to all?  Should not there be safer means of transportation for the citizens?