The Not So Sweet Jam

Traffic? Any puneite will start rattling about traffic problems in the city, how nobody follows traffic rules, however basic they might be! Then how auto rickshaws have no discipline, scooters are sneaking from here and there like termites sneaking into your home! This isn't a pretty picture of the situation here. So, its necessary to create awareness among citizens as much as possible regarding traffic rules, fines for traffic violations and other traffic related issues. However it is necessary to inculcate that habit in yourselves too.
To put matters in perspective, there are around 40,000 vehicles per 100,000 people in the city. That gets the figure to around 2,400,000, vehicles which is a huge number even though we have a dismal public transport system. Compare these numbers to those of Mumbai's and we realize that Mumbai has only around 1,500,000 private vehicles plus additional taxis. The train systems carry a total of 6 million passengers daily.

So, what is lacking in our very own city? Once called the "Pensioners Paradise" or even "Oxford of the East", now a bustling metropolis with no real town planning in place. To find out answers to this, we met Mrs Minal Jadhav, PI, Traffic and she too voiced something similar. She was of the opinion that people of this city have no discipline and that the police is doing as much as it can do to promote and encourage safe driving. However, if the mindset of the people dosent change, then it is difficult to control a city so vast. She also noted that the BRTS and Metro projects must be implemented fast and efficiently to reduce traffic congestion in the city. She also opined that the city is a wonderful place to be, however due to its bad traffic sense and bad condition of roads, it is increasingly difficult to control this menace.

So, as responsible citizens of this city, what can we do to help, is what we asked her? To this, she replied that helping out cops as volunteers, maintaining strict vigilance, obeying the cops orders, etc. must be followed on a regular basis. People must maintain the city and not blame the local authorities for everything. Thus, these are some ways to make Pune healthy, disciplined and a good place to live.


Do comment about what you feel and share any experiences, if need be..!

This is one of the pictures that we took on Karve Road! The guy, by chance, made the picture and did not forget to voice his displeasure at being snapped when jumping the red light.