I have to fully agree with the report in "The Hindu" here.
As a matter of fact, the loss due to defective road system is more than the under-recoveries on diesel, reported by the Petroleum Ministry
Many towns and cities in India are plagued with the problem of poor "Road Infrastructure". There are roads which have potholes filled with muddy water during the rainy season and filled with dirt and dust when the monsoons are not at our doorsteps. The state of roads especially during the monsoons forces people to avoid certain streches causing unexpected traffic congestion at other parts of the town. Traffic congestion and bumper to bumper traffic are the worst thieves of Fuel efficiency in our vehicles. Being an Automotive engineer myself, i can confidently say that the vehicles do have much lesser fuel consumption when idling. However, we have to understand that the engine has to overcome its own resistance all the time and is buring fuel for that. Some of our better behaved drivers on the street have the sense to turn off their engines at traffic signals whereby they help in a less fuel consumption and a cleaner environment.
The second problem that is not so well highlighted in the article is the poor drainage systems. Every year during the rains the roads are clogged with drainage water and this not just damages the vehicles but also ensures that traffic movement is slowed down if not completely stopped. The worst hit are two wheeler riders, who have the natures fury at the top and the municiple corprations failure at the bottom. How many of us have not seen vehical breakdowns in such areas?
The question at the end is, are we all supposed to bear this in spite of paying our taxes on time and following the roadrules (failing which you get a blackberry printed ticket? ). It is not our right to ask for some sense from our leaders? Is there no end to bad infrastructure and we somehow trying to mould our lives around it?
Any who has travelled on the Bangalore metro ( Namma metro), will tell you that the banking in the tracks is really poor and the wheels squeal in pain as the train curves near the vivekananda road towards Byapanahalli. Yes, we wont see any problems immediately. However, soon you will realize that this strech the train has to slow down way below its available speed. Our problem in India, including mine is that we are very resilient. We are able to adapt our lives to poor roads, poor metro, poor politicians....and for that matter poor anything.
Hightime someone gave it a thought yeah...?
