Traffic Chaos in City - Commuter's anguish

by Jitesh Sinha
21 September 2014, Darbhanga

Travelling from once place to another has become an ordeal in Darbhanga these days. Everyday traffic jams has made commuting so difficult that people started to avoid going to the market if it's not urgent. The sight of people, cycles, rickshaws, bikes, cars and what not, trying to squeeze through and move ahead is very common and in almost at every place in the city be it Railway crossings(gumti), Laheriasarai Tower, Darbhanga main market, khan chauk or Darbhanga Railway station.

When road repair work started few years back everyone hoped that the situation will be better once completed. But instead of getting any comfort the matter has only worsen now. There are several reasons for such situations and it's easy to put blame on authority.

Though we all will agree that the road repair work has left much to be desired yet this is not the only reason. Conducting political protests on road by different parties has become the norm now. No one thinks anymore about the inconvenience caused to the public. In a way they are causing trouble in the daily life of the public and want their support as well to push their agenda.

During these years the number of people on road has also increased and so as the number of vehicles and the existing infrastructure is no match to the growing demand. It is unfortunate that instead of expanding and planning better roads respective authorities are still trying to somehow repair the old ones.

We as a resident of city also own some of the responsibility of this situation. Though as much as I try not to raise the point but it's fact that most of us do not care about any rules on the road. We just want to move ahead and reach our destination. Constrained by the limited resources it's difficult situation for everyone but at least we can try making situation better. When on the road just not only think about oneself but also think about our fellow travelers. Though the road rules are not looked at as important in our society but in many countries this is treated as important education for everyone. Elder's must take some responsibility to teach their kids about road rules and safety and help them become better citizens.

There have been recently some announcements from government regarding reforms of age old road and driving rules in India which was much awaited. Hopefully with collective awaking of citizens and Govt. Indian roads become more travelable.