Why Should I Care…..When All do it, I might do it as well!!!
by Sameer Majli
Uncivilized, undisciplined, reckless, careless and just stark stupid to say the least is the best way to describe the way we go about our traffic sense. The guilty are exceedingly bold and arrogant when advised to act otherwise. It is a pity to see real civilized folk acting in a manner that really defies their stature and status to the core.
In order to control the chaos at the First Railway Gate at Tilakwadi, the zone has been barricaded, thus causing great inconvenience to people in the region. Was this the only solution, the panacea to the traffic ills in the zone? I guess this would be a matter of great and further debate.
The barricades blocking traffic towards Mandoli Road
What is tragic is both the attitude of the traffic police and the citizens at large!!!
If the traffic police chose to stick to their guns and keep the barricades in place despite protests, I think they should have at least lived up to their own commitment. If you have made the rule and it is for the public at large then you as enforcers need to patrol the region at least till implementation is complete if not beyond such a timeline. Suddenly the traffic police seem to have vanished from the region and moved on to tasks like nabbing people for minor over speeding, non-possession of relevant documents and other lucrative areas of focus. 
The number of vehicles that travel on the wrong side of Congress Road and the great human circus of taking vehicles over the divider that splits the road, both are testimony to how much risk we are willing to take for the sheer convenience of avoiding having to travel an extra 250 meters or so. It is appallingly tragic to witness both the young and the old; the educated and the less educated folk indulge in the dirty act of breaking rules. Needless to say it is once again a case that showcases our mentality. Thoughtless and heedless, we continue to indulge in acts of convenience, just waiting for something averse to happen. Driving down straight on one side of Congress Road and one is bound to greet these law breakers both in and on a variety of vehicles jumping across the divider in an attempt to cross over in a manner of convenience. The other day, driving down the road, I almost embraced a tractor with its trolley that chose to take the self-defined detour across the road-divider. Trucks, students riding triple seat on two wheelers, autos with school children packed like sheep, plush looking cars, your name it and its part of the violation.
Follow the rule and take the right path around the inconvenience rather than through it and people will look at you as if you are from another planet.
Shameful! Should we just lament over the kind of society that we live in or maybe just hang our heads in shame? Are we waiting for just a major mishap which God forbid, could be around the corner?
While the craziness on Congress Road will not just cease because of one small article on All About Belgaum, the attitude in a sense represents a distinct lack of civic sense and discipline which is maybe just a way of life for us regardless of our tall claims of culture. Try to dissuade the law-breakers and voice a suggestion and in return you can surely get a million dollar stare as if to say,
Why Should I Care…..When All do it, I might do it as well!!!
About the Author: The Author is a regular writer for All About Belgaum, Placement and Training Officer at KLE Society Belgaum, Founder of the Social Initiative “Citizens for Society”,Career Counsellor.