Road Rage

But not the kind you would think.

I live in Gurgaon - arguably a nice, up and coming part of India. We have the most amazing skyline at night - that can rival any modern city of the world.

That skyline is marred during the day though. And that's because of the AWFUL road conditions that persist despite countless newspaper articles, magazine articles, civil society protests, politician's lamentations and even news reports.

There are potholes everywhere!! The only road that isn't affected, is the stretch of NH-8 for which commuters have to pay Rs 17 whenever they use it. The rest of Gurgaon is in shambles.

So what is the problem? Does it take rocket science to fix up the roads? Or to even build good roads? Surely our monsoons cannot be so toxic that the road literally melts every time it rains? Why are there so many bad patches? Why is it that my city continuously looks like it has just emerged from a dust storm?

And my question is - what is the solution?

I'll tell you what I've heard. I've heard that private developers pay for the development of the infrastructure maintained by the State. I've heard that a lot of people in Gurgaon do pay their taxes (including me - and I am in charge of administering this as well, so I take this seriously). I've heard that EVERYONE will benefit from having good roads, apart from a few vested interests who profit from the continuous rebuilding of them.

Surely we are a strong and competent enough state that we can prosecute at least some of these non-performers. Don't roads also have a lifespan of some sort?

I don't know. But I do know that the bad driving that I see around me, the careless pedestrians who cross the road without looking, the underaged kids whose parents have deemed fit to have behind the wheel - all this does not speak well for a country that is trying to move up the Human Development Index. We need better enforcement of laws and we need better monitoring of money spent by the state.

Sigh! As you can probably tell, I spent the better part of today driving around Gurgaon. I was so fed up that I even forgot that Om Book Store was having a sale and that I wanted to buy "White Tiger" - our second booker prize winner. That will be my purchase for January 2008 (having bought a Hurakami for December 2009).

Does one lose weight driving in bad road conditions? I certainly hope so!!