The Cost of a Pavement

In Our Beautiful Country which we gladly call India, do you know how much it costs to be able to walk peacefully on the Pavement? You’ll be surprised to know that the amount runs to hundreds of millions of rupees. You must be wondering when have you ever paid anyone to walk on the foot path? So what cost am I talking about?

Driving to my office every day, I often find myself at the tail-end of atleast a dozen lazy drivers who clocks his vehicle at a snail’s pace but sticks to the right track of the road at all times. Frustrated in the first few minutes of honking and flashing my pass-beam to no effect, I finally see it is fitting to overtake them from the left. At this point the psycho insides me wakes up and after a successful overtake, I go in front of the vehicle going on a 30kmph on the right track of the road and start driving at a 20kmpl. Now I am sure you’re smiling with a grunt along with me at the misfortune of those drivers. Now THEY start honking and flashing pass-beams at me but I do not move. This goes on for few minutes. After some time, these guys struggles and move to 2nd track and try to overtake me from left with a full intention to give me a earful. And in minutes, the vehicles which were stuck behind both of us (at 20kmpl) start advancing and occupy the right track. And the victorious me, who successfully made them vacate the right track which they stuck to like a leech till now, put my car in a top gear and vroom out of the sight (as the road in front of me also is practically empty). 3 things run in my mind. 1. I have helped many drivers reach their destination faster; and 2. I taught that driver a lesson 3. He will never do the same mistake again When I think again on the last point, I know with a right frame of mind, I must be an idiot to think he will suddenly change his driving style with one such episode and become a responsible driver. At best he will be cursing me in his mind wishing to find me so he can take out his frustration. Now knowing that the 3rd point was a fallacy, I am sure the 1st point doesn’t make sense with all the commotion I bought during that 20kmpl race, I am uncertain of my 2nd point too. Now when I am certain that he’ll not withdraw from his passion for the right track, I kept asking myself, what makes him stick to right track in the first place??? The day I realized the rationale behind that answer, I stopped doing that 20kmpl race. I no longer waste my time trying to teach them a lesson instead I started focusing on the left track.

My Dear Friends, what happens on that left track is nothing less than a television drama at 2:00 pm. Our friendly neighborhood Bus Shelter – where people stand on the road making the bus stop on the second tracker and forcing all vehicles behind him to either fully stop or creep into our third track thereby forcing everyone to stop A customer friendly parking – a innocent car owner parks their car on the left track to make his purchase from a store on the road who was issued a license inspite of having a single spot for parking and in the meanwhile his vehicle obstructs the vehicles going on third track who creeps into 2nd and 2nd to first. Road side Vendors – now there are two kinds of vendors. One who occupy the whatever left of pavement and second one who occupy whatever is left of the road. Problem is not so much the vendors who halt on the left track, but its the vehicles who stop on the 2nd track to buy from the vendors from left track. Repeating the whole vicious circle from above. Autowallas – aaah.. I am sure I don’t have to say anything here.. you know the best. Now with so much happening on the left side of the road where nothing is certain. Is it not sane decision by those guys to drive on the right of the road at their own pace? And will they do it again? Ofcourse they will. Will this ever stop? Aaaah.. that’s a important question. DO YOU think, this will stop? What factors should apply for this to stop? If we are thinking that while all this happens on our roads our Police, system, government, MLA, MP, Finance Minister, Chief Minister, Municipal Corporation, Cooperators, R&B Ministry and even the Main Minister in Delhi are all asleep…. Then we are wrong. Not one of them are asleep. They are all wide awake. They are not ignorant of whats happening. They know whats happening and they want that to happen. And if that doesn’t happen, they will ensure it happens. Have you ever wondered, why traffic police does this surprise inspection once in a while asking for your papers, etc? Question is not so much why they do it, question is why they do it only once in a while. If you notice these surprise inspections happen in such low frequency that once you are stopped at a spot, its highly unlikey that you’ll see them again the next day. Why? Why do they not stop everyone and everyday? Wont it enforce people to wear their helmets and seat belts and carry papers and not break any rules like triple riding or driving without a valid license, etc., etc., etc., You know why they don’t make it effective? Because they need incompetence. They need to make them feel it’s ok to come and risk yours and others life on the road sometime…. rather than making their fear in their fucking skull to dare not come on the road if you are not qualified to!! You fucking dare not drunk drive and put my life at risk You fucking dare not carry 5 kids on your bike and risk their lifes and ours You fucking dare not fill your auto with a dozen people while you’re licensed for only 3 You fucking dare not drive with a high beam in city limits blinding and risking the opposite vehicle for few seconds You fucking dare not let your teenage children come on the road just because you feel proud of their achievement in learning so soon You fucking dare not creep into tracks without indicating or having your rear view mirrors on You dare not put my life at risk by being incapable of managing your own

You know why the police doesn’t make their presence effective? Let me give you a brief of their job requirement. Every Police Station in our country has a Budget. The budget is not how much they can spend. The budget is how much they have to earn. How will any police station EARN money? People volunteer to go to Police Station when a crime happens or a accident happens. But all these things are eventualities. Meaning they may happen or may not happen every day of every month. They how will they meet the budget requirement? And who does this money go to? If you thought that police mean who took 50 rupees from you for driving without a helmet, keep the money in his pocket and goes home and buys his kids some chocolates, then you are wrong. Almost every penny collected on the roads makes it all the way to Delhi: The pennies collected… From the roadside vendors who do not have a trade license From the shop owners who have a a valid trade license From the college gang of 3 on a bike From the Lidcap guy who stitches people slippers for 5 rupees From the Fruit and vegetable vendors From the Autowalla’s who are caught in their grip From the street light vendor and their children who self you the cotton candy for 5 From that one handed 70 year old with a medical prescription in his hand Even from the shop owners, who either bring their products to the road or and ensure attractive standing boards are occupying the pavements.. Every penny collected is part of that budget. That is how police Stations make money. Not that you know… if a constable, demands you money, note that he is not just bloody corrupt policeman, but he is doing his job which is to make his share for that budget. Now that we have some perspective on the so called pennies… do you know that the budget demanded from each police station is not in thousands or lakhs, but it runs into crores. EVERY MONTH. THIS IS COST OF THE PAVEMENT.... and what it takes to walk on a footpath in India. This is the cost paid not by the pedestrians but all those vendors who want to run their lives and their family buy doing a small time business but end up being part of the whole economy of billions of rupees and remain poor and wretched at the end of the day and fall sleep on very same pavement.