Misplaced Reaction to Road fatalities in Pune: Chandni Chowk
Just last week I had begun to compile a blog post on Pune's infamous Chandni Chowk and its precarious traffic and safety situation. While I was writing my blog, a young motorbike riding student was rammed into by a school bus in this very Chandni Chowk, to lose his life at the age of 18. Suddenly, overnight, the Chandni Chowk witnessed citizen and political protests and believe me, when I say that in 2 days, all encroachments were removed, the road was widened by mobilizing 3-4 JCBs and the road resurfaced during the night. The reaction of the otherwise slumbering administration was worth watching! However, I am left wondering how the reaction of the political and administrative departments is completely missing the point of the tragedy. The Chandni Chowk is, because of its ill design, high slopes and cramped road widths, a spot of slow moving traffic. So a fatality, which occurred would actually have been of a greater magnitude if the traffic was faster moving. But the ...