THE 'DRAMA' ON ROAD !!!

As we shifted from trivandrum to thrissur ( the state capital and cultural capital of the GOD's own country) recently, I had the privilege (hope I can call it so) to drive in both these cities within a gap of only a few months. This enabled me to look at some of the striking differences between the two, on the road. I do not intend to emphasize on the condition of the road. Instead, what was more striking to me was the road manners that I happened to see !

At trivandrum, if one could make sure that he/she adheres to the traffic rules and maintain the much expected 
manners, chances are comparitively high that he would be driving comfortably. However, the cultural capital had something else in store. People were found to be negligent even while crossing the roads. I couldn't imagine how they dared to be so. The sound of horns doesn't seem to mean anything to them or rather they don't even seem to hear it. Well, when someone sounds the horn, they do have a purpose, don't they ? To neglect this signal or warning is not accepted. Moreover, even if one strictly keeps to his side while driving his vehicle, he would find the vehicles coming from opposite direction, trying to cross on to his side so as to  overtake other vehicles, more so in the case of the private buses , lorries etc. Is the road meant only for them ? Well atleast they seem to believe that way. However, I also came to know that things are worse in some other places. As I personally don't know much about it, I chose not to mention it.

There are a few exceptions to the above statements. There are many who are well behaved (on road). But the other half does well enough that the impression that a newcomer has wouldn't be too good.
The reason for this has to be found out and sorted. It could vary from the ignorance or negligence of the public to the frustration that creeps in due to traffic issues. When some people resort to such deeds, the others also would sometimes be left with no option, but to follow them. To avoid this, the public should be made aware of these things and the required measures must be adopted to reduce traffic blocks thereby providing a comfortable drive.

THE SECOND FREEDOM STRUGGLE

These days, the struggle and fight against corruption finds a place in the newspaper headlines almost every day. Corruption, as we all already know is something that pulls the nation back. Corruption need to be wiped off from the Indian society and Indian public would well be aware of this fact. This is evident from the fact that the anti corruption movements gained immense public support. These movements are the need of the hour and we needed a leader to show us the way.

The determination and will shown by respected Anna Hazare is probably what led the way in the fight against corruption. He seem to be honest and to have value for words. His protest was a typical Gandhian method of protest and that attracted public towards him. The public support became so large that the movement could not be left unnoticed. And more importantly , Anna Hazare did not want to leave the task unfinished. He is still fighting to ensure that the Lokpal bill is properly implemented .

One of the mysterious demands of the government is to not to bring the PM, cabinet ministers, MPs and all under the power of the Lokpal. However, as they are the people's representatives, they should be the first ones to be cleared of any doubt in this regard. The nation should be in safe hands. For this to happen it is advisable to bring the PM and co also under the purview of Lokpal.

And now, yoga guru Baba Ramdev came to the front to fight against illegal money etc. However, the way he tried to escape when police came to arrest him brought him under suspicion and there may be more facts to be unravelled to reveal the truth in this regard. However the fight against corruption, which is "the second freedom struggle" as declared by Anna Hazare aims to free the nation from the hands of the corrupt. The public would be waiting eagerly for this to happen.

Should roads be shut down for the 'morning walkers' ?

The state government has decided to open the Museum-Vellayambalam road in the trivandrum city for a couple of hours in the morning ,exclusively for the pedestrians . During this time, the vehicles will not be allowed to pass through this road as it will be open for morning walkers only . This move provides ample space for the pedestrians to walk without the fear of traffic. The road selected as a part of this is in the heart of the city. But , this road could be chosen as there are alternate roads for connecting different parts of the city without crossing the Museum-Vellayambalam road.

Though this provides a path for the walkers, there are other issues to be thought about. If the traffic along this road is to be avoided for a couple of hours in the morning, it would affect the travellers badly, as the alternate routes might be longer than this one. For instance, if an ambulance comes along this way during this time, there are only two options available. One is to allow the ambulance to pass through the road, which would affect the pedestrians as they would be walking freely without thinking about the traffic. The second option is to force the ambulance to take a round about route, which is not advisable. Also, there are a few schools in the city, which start early in the morning. Thus shutting down of a road in the heart of the city would make things difficult. It would affect all, but the pedestrians as they will have to take round about routes.

It has been told that though government had announced about the shutting down of the road, there is no legal provision to back it up. It is to be noted that the grounds of Museum, the Kanakakunnu palace premises etc are along the sides of the same road. So it would be a good idea to ensure that the pedestrians use those places for their morning walk without diverting the traffic. This would help both ' morning walkers ' and ' non walkers ' and seems to solve the issue. So it is important to think about the issue and take the corrective steps, trying to uphold public interest .