High Speed Corridors

Patience has left Bangalore motorists’ ages ago. Thanks to the people who are adding over a thousand vehicles a day. If a snail were to race with the bumper to bumper traffic, probably it would emerge as a winner on these chaotic roads. Motorists clearly display their anger, frustration by over-speeding when ever they find a clear patch of road. They no longer care for the signals to turn green, another reason adds to the impatience too. The waiting period at each junction is sometimes more than three minutes. The list goes on. So, what could be a probable solution which could partly resolve the crisis at hand?

High Speed corridors in the city! Yes. They are the need of the hour. Major arterial roads which are longer than a kilometer in length could be converted into high speed corridors. Though they are short in length, they would considerably ease the situation of the traffic at these places and help in quick passage of vehicles. This would in turn reduce the travelling time and augment the overall average speed of the commuters. Roads such as the West of Chord Road, Inner core ring road, South End road and alike should be re-designed so as to build these high speed corridors removing any hindrances or bottlenecks which could possibly obstruct the free flow. Even if an average speed of 60 kms/hr is achieved it would reduce the travel time extensively. It would indeed be a boon to the commuters who are tired of driving across these congested city roads.

The traffic signals which bring the traffic to a standstill should be removed by building many more underpasses and flyovers on these corridors. Parking or stopping vehicles on these corridors should be a strict no. A parking bay for the buses at the bus stop would take them away from the roads while they halt for a brief period which would not affect the main stream.

The unessential burning of fuel would be considerately minimized which would mean less emission of toxic gas and expenditure on fuel. The chronic headaches of cops of manning the junctions would come down to a drastic extent. This way they could make better use of them in other roles such as monitoring the traffic flow and as troubleshooters in case of jams if any caused.

Wouldn’t it amount to a surge in accidents? A lane system, regulation of traffic by way of utilizing cameras through out these stretches would make the road users cautious about over speeding. Strict vigilance by the cops using CCTvs, speed gun cameras could help nab the speed mongers. A manifold increase to the meager penalties charged now by way of amending the Motor Vehicles Act will surely curtail the speedsters which would burn their pockets otherwise.

What about the pedestrians? Close to a 100 Sub-ways are being planned by the BBMP to be built at major junctions in order to facilitate the safe crossing of the roads for the pedestrians. An inter link of these sub-ways at the junctions would reduce the risk taken by the pedestrians while crossing the roads. Alternatively, many sky walks are also planned at significant junctions. Barricading the high-speed corridors would force them to take these Sky-walks or sub-ways to cross the roads which would be safer for them and the road users as well.

Casting my vote

The Lok sabha elections were here and it was time to perform my duty as a citizen of India by casting our votes. I was longing for 23rd April to vote in BLR. It was surprising to see many people standing in line and awaiting their turn. Never had I witnessed such a scene from the time I have been voting. I was happy that BLR would outnumber any other city with the percentage of votes caste but to my dismay, I was proved wrong with the performance at the end of the day. My mother and I went together and happened to see many of our neighbours at the polling booth. After spending half an hour in the line it was my turn. The officers took my election voter's ID card and verified. The person next to him prepared the ballot slip and asked me to sign the register across my name. A lady officer sitting next to him who was manning the control unit applied the ink on my finger and activated the Electronic Voting Machine(EVM) to accept my vote.

Once all procedures were done, I proceeded towards the EVMs to caste my vote. I saw something moving in that counter and I realized it was a small kid. Considering it as some toy he could play around, he happily pressed a button. The machine beeped and the vote was accepted. The presiding officers were dumb struck because I was still heading to the EVMs while it beeped. I informed them about the kid and his mischievous act. People in the room said that nothing can be done as the vote is already accepted. I was very offended by that statement. I was stern with my decision that I would not move out without casting my vote. The polling officer who was busy with some paper work came in immediately to the counter and enquired as to what was happening. I explained to him that my vote was caste by that kid instead.

The polling officer said they do not have the powers to cancel a vote. Once caste it is recorded and nothing could be done. I wasn't willing to give up because it was my right and nothing could stop me from voting to whom I wanted to. I was ready to take this matter to higher ups if required. By then some person suggested that I caste the vote which was supposed to be done by the person who brought that kid along to the booth. It was an old man who had got that kid and was yet to caste his vote. The polling officer and the presiding officers agreed that would be the right way to sort out the issue and I too would get my chance to vote the candidate I wanted to. I agreed and the old man had no choice too but to agree. All formalities were completed after the verification was made and then I voted instead of him.

All this confusion was because of letting kids inside the polling booth and also to let them free to continue their wayward act. If the security, the polling officer and the presiding officers had been cautious and had warned them loitering around, this incident wouldn't have occurred. Also if the old man had imbibed some discipline prior to bringing that child inside the polling booth, this incident could be averted. I got to complete my duty by casting my vote and that gave me a satisfaction. Hopefully we should have a clear cut majority of any one alliance so that things could move forward at a rapid pace