VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

BARRICADED Vizag police have been barricading our roads for more than a decade. When NH5 was made to run through the populated parts of the city, many people trying to cross the road from the populated areas on either side would get hit by speeding vehicles. It would be proper at that time to make several pedestrian underpass or overbridges. But that did not happen as there was no money with the NHAI to do this type of work. So CMR started advertising on barricades which were placed on certain sections which would slow down traffic and provide cover long enough for pedestrians to scurry across the road. Later the police started saying that these barricades were put up to slow down fleeing Naxalites, making a gateway from the city, say after robbing a bank or a police armoury. Eventually, this theory was jettisoned. And a new explanation was offered saying that it reduced accidents. This was the most blatantly silly reason because one could see that these barriers incre...

Vizag’s roads are getting crowded by the day and what with frequent VIP visits it is never easy to keep our roads incident free. Our traffic police have a challenging job of keeping control without being overbearing. Generally speaking our drivers too are not over aggressive. They don’t go crazy with road rage, fifteen year old industrialist’s children in BMWs do not rampage around our streets and drunken actors don’t mow down labourers sleeping on pavements. They don’t show the finger, or wave their fists. In fact there is very little abusive language coming out of cars these days - with the air-conditioned and the windows up we just can’t hear them anymore. It is true that we Vizagites have a couple of stiff ones before heading home amiably from the belt shop and pay our fines quietly when caught by the ever vigilant police. While there is no empirical study Vizag drivers and riders are a civilized lot. However our city roads and our motorists have some remarkable eccentricities th...