Supply & Demand

 

India is on a race to be the most populated country in this world. Its literally an Abundance …err.. of people though. Most HR people will only be more than happy to see more heads around

Last week i had to take a print of some documentation and since my home printer wasn't working, had to get the prints from a cyber cafe. The dingy little place and its smaller cubicles was least to say crowded. Many youngsters waiting for their turn… privacy was lost for some and i could see a lady jeering at a person standing beside her. The best thing i liked about this cafe was that, all their PC’s were so outdated by looks, but the Operating System was the latest Windows 7. The monitor was a 14’ CRT … 100% of zoom on the screen made the fonts look huge size on them. I finally managed to get my hand on a PC after about half hour wait, my prints were fired onto a printer that was connected to the WLAN (!), the printer was a HP Laserjet. Print per copy was charged only at Rs 3

As i was walking out of the shop, i was thinking to myself the way population has outstripped supply in this great country of ours ‘India’. A railway station, bus stand, auto / taxi stand.. .its all filled with people. Railway stations even in a cosmo city like Bangalore are far short of space for the crowds that it was meant to operate with. A city bus is something that you cant step into during peak hours… well you may think the Volvo buses that are operated on premium by the bus corporation has space… no longer are they spacious, regardless of the premium fare collected on them

The cyber cafe when it started was meant for those who knew computers only… now there is hardly any grown-up person who doesn't know computers, so you will find this place always crowded. That's the way India has grown… we have absolutely lost our handle on the resources that need to be to support such a large population

Will a we 2 ours 2 revival help ! ?

Maintenance

What’s that lack the most on a Public property in India.. have you ever wondered ?

Maintenance, yes simply maintaining something that you already posses, sadly that's something grossly missing on any public property here in India. Buses, trains, train stations, office buildings, roads, medians, street lighting et all lack a good periodic upkeep. BMTC here in Bangalore ordered and had a large contingent of Swaraj Mazda vehicles which could seat about 30 people. The bus corporation used them as small shuttles. They would run swiftly and easily between two shorter destinations as against the larger buses. It was a brilliant idea and they ran well too, but for lack of proper upkeep these vehicles no longer are visible on Bangalore roads. When latches & bolts go missing, they were tied together with steel wires or shabbily welded together. The steel plates on the floor were all torn and they were not replaced, instead it was bandaged. A driver once told me that these vehicles needed good maintenance and a proper schedule needed to be adhered to. The corporation obviously never did these wholeheartedly

Street lighting is a big racket in itself. Light poles and its fittings are constantly replaced, rather than just maintaining it well. The best part is that new ones are installed and then they are left un-attended to. These lights may light up the roads for a few months at the best and when they are fused or something, its not looked into. Most recently new light poles and fittings were installed on the Old Madras road stretch from NGEF to Beninganahalli. They were supposed to illuminate the newly laid out broader road. However, yesterday as i passed through them, i found UNINOR ad’s fitted on these poles that were lit but not the lights. So much for the care authorities give to road users !

Railway stations or for that matter any Govt buildings get a do once in a lifetime it would appear. The Railways setup a automatic ticket vending machine at Krishnarajpuram station in Bangalore, these worked for couple of weeks and after which they were found not working. Now, they don't even exist there anymore. These machines during its good days provided an easy access to platform tickets, people didn’t need to wait at the counters

To have world class facilities is easy… procure them, set them up however to retain them in the same class the who’s who of governance have to make a change in attitude and approach. Isnt it cheaper to maintain than to keep setting up anew ?… it atleast would save the coffers of some un-wanted under the table payments

Bangalore's scourge, Vehicles

Bangalore is one such city, where traffic has become very intolerable. In the past half decade, vehicles have increased manifold, creating more smoke and excessive pile-up of vehicles on every road.

Increase in vehicle numbers means the carrying capacity of the roads, which once were designed to cater to the pensioners, have lost their ability to withstand the load. These roads cant take them anymore. The riders of bikes now drive on footpaths also.

Our city has a road factor, which is all cross roads, bring you to a Main Road. This architecture has now ensured that our vehicle owners have lots of options to skip traffic, drive to reach the main road through each of these cross roads, but sadly it causes jam spreading into all nook and corners. The usage of these cross roads, are endangering the happless residents.

Roads need to be broadened is the often heard salvo. But, how would you do this when buildings and trees stand so tall on the close sides. In this melee of road broadening, trees which are natures' gift to bangaloreans are losing their lives. Most of the beautifuly tree lined roads do not exist now. For eg Bellary road, once had so much tree cover which meant that sunlight rarely touched the roads. This is now history, trees have made way for the new Airport, which is a broader Bellary Road. Reducing tree line have blessed Bangalore with hotter climes, people who hated to have fan's are running to get cover with Air-Conditioners, be it in a car, office or home!

Its time that the Govt freezes newer registeration of vehicles and subsequently have more and better planned public transportation. The BMTC buses should be more organized to run at proper times, bus stops planned at places so that they dont stop traffic, better facilities to customer viz smarter buses, seats, ticketing system, courteous & well trained staff.

Well let me shorten it here... our roads of Bangalore arent capable of handing this huge vehicular capacity. Isnt it time that the policy makers do something about it... wonder what will make them to think of thing