Mismanaged projects & a rotten system! One possible way forward...

This post has turned out to be a long one; request all to read till the very end. Starting with the NH issue, we move on to the root cause of such issues (which all of us actually knows deep inside) and we then move on to a possible way forward for us. Do try to read till end, and let me know your thoughts...

I stand with the people who are being affected because of the road widening. I do not think, any solution to the problem with the people being displaced becoming losers (in any way), is the right way forward. None of us, including those out there who are fighting tooth & nail for wider roads, would want the people who are being affected to be thrown out to the streets or to be at the mercy of the government. No, lets not call that development!

But then, does that necessarily mean that we ought to stick to smaller roads? I do not agree...

We want better infrastructure, we want planned, organic & sustainable development! We are a young country, youth being a significant percentage of the population! We want more & more job opportunities to be created here; and this has to happen before our so called human capital becomes a human liability for ourselves! If wider roads would mean more opportunities for the youth in any way, then we ought to have it!

Now from another perspective. Every day, we see more & more vehicles on the road. Dozens of people die every day in the highways & hundreds suffer major accidents; if wider, well planned roads could make that figure come down by at least 50%, wouldn't that alone be a reason for us to have wider roads in our state.

Doing nothing now is living a slow death! Unless we take the "right" decision right now, its just a matter of years, before we see our state choking to death.

"Shashi Tharoor interacting with techies in Technopark" - How it went today!

Saw this post on TechnoparkToday; had spread the word today morning. Was not at all planning to attend this one; but then a few of our friends wanted to attend this one. Am now wondering, whether it was the letter from VK that had prompted us attend this session (the very same letter, which is the previous post; request all to spend two minutes to go through the letter and to spread the word). Let me also take this opportunity to thank Dr. Tharoor for having come up with the idea and for organizing such a discussion. Thank you Sir!

So at around 5:50 PM, we all started from our office to Al-Saj auditorium.

On reaching the venue, I was at first disappointed to see that it had the banner "Youth Congress Campaign". We had wished it to be more of a discussion forum about "youth joining politics" led by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, without much focus on any particular political party. However, a welcome note by Dr. Tharoor was of comfort to us, as he did mention that the session would be an interactive discussion. Towards the end, we were convinced that Youth Congress was serious of having the youth getting in politics to shape the future of our country!

To start with... Opposition Leader Shri. Oommen Chandy, Trivandrum MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor, AICC Secretary Jitendra Singh, MLA Wahid, DCC President V. S. Sivakumar were the prominent figures around. It started with a welcome speech by Shri Wahid; followed by Dr. Tharoor, Shri Oommen Chandy & Shri Jitendra, all speaking of youth and politics and Youth Congress. The message was clear: it is important that youth join politics to shape the future of the nation & that Youth Congress was the best option for the youth to have their say in Indian politics.

Am cutting short the introductions; moving on to discussions. You can skip the first two questions straightaway; we have interesting ones down the line...

Accidents in NH 47: 7 die in 1 month in "Kazhakuttom - Attingal" stretch alone!

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/localnews/malayalam/news/kerala/districts/thiruvananthapuram/317400/2010-05-20/2/0/1/0

Even this is not enough for our great visionaries, who are still fighting with Central Govt. for a 30 m highway instead of a 45 or 60 m highway!!! #sad #frustrated

Yesterday, was stuck in the traffic for about 20 minutes or so at Chacka junction! Meanwhile, with the sirens on and an escort of about 2 or 3 police jeeps, a State car flew by; no way was it affected by the jam. So, they are right! They dont need a 45 m or 60 m wide road! Why bother!

Its not just with the highways; everything seems to be in a mess here! :(

In another note; these days, I see more and more people openly sharing their frustrations and anger with the system! Good in a way; we have more people realizing how we are being betrayed. But, if this is how it is going to be, one day all these frustrations & anger is definitely going to burst out! Know not when or how it would be; but that would definitely not be good. Wish our great leaders & visionaries change themselves, before the public takes it out at them!

Today's experience - NH 47 drive

Its just around 20 km from Neyyatinkara to Trivandrum (via NH 47); today, it took me more than a hour and a half by car. Awesome speed, I must say; I really enjoyed the drive in the widest highway of our country! :(

We have got great wonderful visionaries as our leaders! Thank God. They are never convinced of the need for larger & wider highways. #frustrated! #goingmad! Great people, I must say!

http://www.keralatips.org/2010/04/20/national-highway-nh-47-disaster-in-kerala/
http://www.scorpiogenius.com/2010/04/kerala-nh-development-back-to-bullock.html
http://tvmrising.blogspot.com/2010/05/yourspeak-on-highway-widening-issue.html

Hundreds die every year in highway accidents here in Kerala; but why hasnt anything changed? The ones who are really responsible for this state of affairs - what would open their eyes? #angry! #whysucharottensystem? #sad! #howtohelpimprove?

The toll, if levied, would still be less than the money I had spent on the petrol I had wasted today (during the traffic and for changing gears at a dozen times every minute) :(  Wonder how much KSRTC would be losing every year running on such high ways! Would not business sprout in every district of the state if you can reach an airport or a sea port within hours? Is it that nobody understands that we need better highways for development!

Dreaming of a day when it would take only just 6 or 8 hours to drive from Trivandrum to Kasargod... Such connectivity would obviously make the entire state well connected, and open up the entire state for doing all sorts of business anywhere in the state without really having to worry whether you have an airport or a sea port nearby. No worries, its is there very near to your business!

People displacement & relocation is a challenge, I understand. But the solution is not to have smaller highways; the solution must take care of people concerns but not at the cost of future development. Would it not be possible for Government to get the land from people, take up space for highways & build multi storeyed apartments for the same people in the remaining space? There can also be floors earmarked for commercial purposes, which the Government can sell or lease to private business organisations. This money can as well be used for funding the apartments! #wonderwhynot! #wishwehadgreatleaders! There should be some way out; but please not this! 30m highways! Please do not!!!

Gudnite!