Dears,
There are two distinct issues in what Soter wrote;
1. Road crossing, specially the safety of pedestrians and
2. Development model for villages in Goa.
Venantius Pinto has picked up the first issue. The second one also needs
attention in Goa.
I will share two of my experiences in the month just ended last night.
1.Tiruchirapalli-Tamil Nadu, INDIA, 18 October, 2008.
The autoricshaw that takes me from the Trichy Junction Railway station to the
Tamil Nadu Multi-purpose Society premises suddenly turns on to the right side
of the concrete median at a petrol pump/bunk and proceeds for the next 200
metres on the WRONG SIDE of the four-lane highway HORN BLARING till it reached
the gate and escaped from the highway.
2. Kuching-Sarawak,MALAYSIA, 27 October, 2008
The taxi carrying me from Kuching International Airport to Damai Beach Resort
slows down and stops to allow a man to cross the street. He does NOT blow the
HORN and race through [as one would expect cars to do at the Santa Monica jetty
in Panaji when tourists try to cross the road after the evening cruises].
Professor Sukhpal Singh from IIM-Ahmeddabad and Mr. Vikram Bokey from Pune
notice the difference just as I do. Says Sukhpal "Oh, Oh! We are out of India
...and the cars do not blow horns."
The unfortunate accident near JMJ is partly due to our attitude of "Jiski lathi
uski bains" [Might is right]. The other part is about our PLANNING ...or its
sheer absence. The Zebra Crossing at JMJ-Ferns Store, Porvorim, is exactly at
the top of the steep climb from Dr. Pinto do Rosario hospital. There is a bus
stop also at the same point ...for upward bound buses! Besides constricting the
road effectively to a single lane, the bus also blocks vision of the traffic
behind it. There is space for a BUS BAY. the bus stop shelter needs to be
demolished and taken behind. The Zebra Crossing needs to be taken a little
ahead. A Gram Sabha resolution to this effect, and concurred by the Village
Panchayat at its fortnightly meeting, can be communicated to the RTO and
Director of Panchayats for onward transmission to the District Collector for
suitable orders.It is do-able. Like the NIKE punch line, we need to find the
courage to JUST DO IT!
Mog asundi.
Miguel
Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2008 00:26:37 -0400
From: "Venantius Pinto" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] Save yourself first before saving Goa
Message-ID:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Soter raises very good points. What I cannot understand is the notion that
just because it is a highway that a crossing is not a legitimate right, and
that too in a country like India where millions live by the highways
-- most of which go through small towns. Earlier on there were no crosing.
But the sheer nonchalance of wanting to get through with complete disregard to
what could have happened to us was very real.
venantius
From: "soter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Goanet] Save yourself first before saving Goa
Just a forthnight ago a young pathologist working at JMJ Hospital in
Porvorim was crushed under the wheels of a speeding bus as she tried to
cross the road on her way to the bus stop after work. The NH17 has also
taken a huge number of lives of children and adults in road accidents.
Churchill Alemao the PWD Minister is now busy propagating the idea of a
6-lane National Highway that is being senselessly pproposed through villages to
benefit the builders and real estate developers. Who will enforce traffic
discipline which is also required along side other development?
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