With the onset of the monsoon season, the roads of the country, yet again, turned into a sheer battlefield. Different cities across the length and breadth of the nation witnessed a total breakdown of the traffic and infrastructure due to the abysmal conditions of roads. If knee-deep dirty water wasn’t quite enough, the infinite potholes surely added the icing to the cake.  

From school-aged children to office adults, everyone has been hit hard by this monsoon menace. Traffic stretched for several kilometres, cab services surged to a massive extent, localities were waterlogged with garbage, and people suffered from rutted rides on the potholed roads. “The sewage back flow is recurrent and local conditions are also worsened by the garbage littered on drains by local vendors,” said a Delhi localite. The pouring rain, which is supposed to bring a relief from the wrenching summer heat, became a greater affliction.

Common man’s safety was decidedly compromised as roads became the doorway to hell. Road accidents and consequent casualty count increased radically as chaos kept spreading on the monsoon-hit lanes.

Who Holds Responsible?

The civic body, either municipality or municipal corporation, is responsible for the construction and maintenance of roads while the traffic police maintain the flow of traffic in every city. With roads turning into marsh and traffic malfunctioning beyond limits, both these authorities come under scrutiny for their careless functioning.   

While people suffer in silence, those responsible for their suffering overlook the entire issue by blaming it on the rains. This blame game is not only groundless, but also unacceptable on account that the monsoons come and go every year, causing the same amount of destruction, and sometimes even more, due to the lack of vigilance of these authorities.

The slackness of the authorities has also led to the delay in the process of road restoration. Sanction for tenders is always hindered by some reason or the other, causing lesser availability of tenders reaching the civic bodies. Added corruption and a negligent construction process have caused the formation of vastly temporary roads, breaking down at the slightest fall of rain. The police, on the other hand, have failed to keep the traffic under control with signals running ineffectual and vehicles hoarding to a vast stretch. A combined collapse of these authorities has built the monsoon menace for the people.

What’s Next?

For creating a better future, we must first create a healthier present. In order to improve upon the current state of affairs, it is more than necessary for the responsible authorities to work effectively for the sake of people. Since the monsoons havoc the roads every year, the authorities should be prepared with a plan to circumvent the damage to people and property.

Road construction, without carelessness and corruption, is the definitive requisite to curb this problem. Tenders need to be passed at a faster speed, to better contractors. The police play a crucial role in this situation of infrastructural crisis. All the traffic signals need to be checked and repaired before the arrival of monsoons. Police officials should work with utmost watchfulness for smooth flowing traffic. To achieve such a feat would mean that the authorities work at their best pace, with their purest conscience, which seems like a far-fetched reality for now.

While the system may take its sweet time to mend its ways, we can contribute to transforming the current scenario by contributing our bit. People can prevent water logging of roads by creating rain gardens at their residential places.  

Let’s Come Together

A motorcyclist from Kolkata lost his life because of the fragile condition of the roads. Every year, many innocent people face the same fate as him due to the irresponsible attitude of the authorities. From the days of waiting for rains, we have come to dread the monsoons as potholes are turning more into death holes.

As responsible citizens of the country, it is our duty to bring about a change in this customary sad reality of monsoon-hit roads. Let’s not forget that it is in our hands to choose the civic body officials and raise our voice whenever and wherever they go wrong. Let’s not waste our money to the backwards progress of the country. Let’s come together to strike out this menace from its very roots.