Pune Traffic

This morning I was a victim of the notorious Pune traffic system. No, don't worry - I did not face a near-death experience. "Earree !! Mag kay ??" I know several of you will rebuke me for making such a big deal. If it is not near-death, it is not worth fretting about, is it ?? An hour's delay here and there is something to be expected, is it not ? Well, what if I then tell you that my delay didn't really last for an hour but about ten minutes ?? Well, I can already hear the "pch pch" es from all of you - What a cry-baby I am ! Ain't I ??

So be it. I will lodge my complaint anyway. This morning I was walking to the nearby grocer (kiranamalacha dukaan), Umesh to get some milk. Those who are aware of the geography of the region will agree that walking out of the back gate of Himali Society via the narrow lane that opens into Lakshminarayan Nagar on the left, it should take an average walker no more than five minuted to get to Umesh. Allowing for two minutes ito get the milk (he is very efficent, that man), the complete excursion should not take more than 12 minutes. Of course, only if you do not take into account the delay caused by the infinite time required to cross the Gulawni Maharaj Road. So it happened that today it took me about 20 minutes to complete the above mission.

To look to your right and see an ocean of cars and two-wheelers like Ganpatis in the Anant Chaturdashi procession is quite overwhelming. I waited for ten minutes (well maybe seven to eight, but what the hell) patiently looking for an opening. Again, I can hear you chiding me for following the wrong strategy and then bickering. "This is not the way it works in Pune, is it ?? You have to keep moving forward regardless of the flow and through the chaos will emerge a strange kind of order and you will reach your destination safely 99% of the time, isn't it ??" Well, call me American-minded (since I have just returned after staying there for two years) for expecting a sense of discipline and method if you like. I am sorry, when it comes to such things where I feel the American way is right, I will not desist from saying so. I expect some sense of decorum. I expect that while the traffic is in flow, the pedestrians should stop and the vehicles return the favour in due course of time.

It is not that I just want to bicker and preach. I want to practically try to analyse the situation and make suggestions to improve it. One, the difficulty mainly arises with the traffic that is moving towards Mhatre Bridge, not away from it. This can quite clearly be attributed to the existence of the signal just after Mhatre Bridge at the ... Chowk. (Note to self: Find out the name of this chowk, too) which regulates the flow of traffic allowing periods of calm for the pedestrians to cross. Now, there exists a signal at the other end too - near Kirloskar Cummins - (Note to self: Find out the name of this chowk also) which clearly isn't functional. At least, it was not this morning and based on the experiences of many people's complaints and resultant reluctance to cross this road, does not for a major part of the time. It is imperative that this should be looked into. There should be no excuse for a signal not functioning at all. People not obeying it is a secondary matter. Otherwise there is no way we can break out of this vicious circle - vehicles not bothering to stop to allow pedestrians to cross and pedestrians pushing their way through. As I said that it will work 99% of the time is no justification. Last week an old woman was killed in front of Vishrambaug Wada doing just this. The papers were quick to castigate the "reckless vehicle drivers" but can they really be blamed if people are pushing their way through heavy traffic ?? The next day, another paper carried a piece lambasting these "careless and irresponsible pedestrians" - but pray what are they supposed to do ?? Wait for an eternity to find some breathing space ?? Clearly the answer does not lie in blaming either. The time must be fairly divided to allow both proper use. After the Vishrambaug Wada incident, the city police were shaken into action - and the idea of using a rope at the signal at Alka is certainly a welcome one. But at other places like this one too, signals must be strictly enforced.

Now let us look at the context. Umesh is a pretty well-known and significant trader and has several customers in the region, particularly in Himali. There are a lot of senior citizens living in Himali and while most are fairly well-to-do, not all have servants who can deliver their groceries home. Even though Umesh provides for home deliveries when purchases are made in bulk, there are occasions where people will want the odd item like I did this morning or where they will just feel like walking to the grocers. This number will soon grow when more people move in into the newly built Sankul. Already there is a lot of traffic flowing in and out of Dinanath Hospital - access to which from either side is not easy to put it mildly. In such a scenario it would not be unjustifiable to demand for a signal in the Chowk of Umesh itself. At least, the authorities should make sure that the existing signals are functioning properly.

It is said "Charity begins at Home." I think we need to start taking an interest and resolving local issues like these. There is no question Pune is growing fast. But it is growing in a wild, indisciplined manner. We need to make sure that it remains a decent place to live in. We need to follow the examples of Bangalore (BATF) and Kozhikode (the first litter-free city in India). I wonder if there is any group of bloggers interested in making Pune a better place and are working for that - I would be keen to join - similar to the effort 'Mumbai Help' by some Mumbai bloggers. While Pune has been lucky that it has suffered much less than Mumbai with regards to natural and man-made disasters, it is severely lacking in other respects such as traffic and discipline.

I admit I don't really know how to go about trying to make a difference by myself. I know I should and I probably will communicate this to the authorities, newspapers etc but we all know for any change to happen, people in large numbers need to come out and voice their opinion. I am not the best at organizing people to do that. Hence I am making use of this blog to communicate with similar-thinking people who are interested in bringing about a change. Let us hope we can make a difference.

Update: I did check the signal later in the evening and while it was working, it is run in such a manner that it gives the pedestrians negligible time to cross. Really, it should be better regulated.