The Samruddhi Mahamarg or Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway has infamously become the talk of the nation due to regular mishaps which are happening on the highway leading to many deaths. Government should think whether it was possible to avoid these accidents from happening.
Moving from one place to another has been a human behaviour since ancient times and so, migration itself was considered as life. There was no concept of country boundaries earlier as the region won by the victors during wars was considered as part of the victor’s kingdom. In fact, concepts such as the country itself did not exist back then. It's only later that humans settled in one place after countries started to be formed. Although settlements, countries and so on became an increasingly ‘normal’ world, humans did not stop traveling. Whether it is for work or for tourism, migrating and traveling from one place to another continues. To make the journeys convenient, roadways, railways and airways eventually took shape.
Since roadways were preferred more than the other two, developing this mode of transportation was given special attention. Network of roads was weaved across the country with expressways gaining popularity in particular. Stories of how fast one can drive on Mumbai-Pune Expressway were told with curiosity-laced pride. However, the terrible accidents happening on Samruddhi Mahamarg are replacing those stories of adrenaline with the tragic ones. These stories are perceived with such insensitivity that one would wonder if there is no value left for human life. The public too, should be agitated about these misadventures. The relatives of people who die in accidents should sue government systems in court for compensation. Only then this issue will gain the sensitivity it requires.
However, the government authorities are benefitted from people's lack of pro-active mobilisation on their part. The roads made up of cement are not appropriate for fast traffic as tyres wear out quickly. They leads to more accidents and this is a universally acknowledged fact. Hence, the preference in developed countries is still given to tarred roads. Things are fast moving backwards in our country and concrete roads are built everywhere as if ‘running’ cement companies is the responsibility of the authorities alone. This is affecting the people and their relatives who lose their dear ones in an untimely manner.
Samruddhi (which literally means prosperity), expressway is the best example of this. Anyone would agree that this road has been more about misfortune than prosperity. The road comes up for discussion in various media only after a big accident takes place on it. Various resolutions are suggested while debates about who is guilty and who is not float around. Meanwhile, the next accident takes place before the previous one fades into oblivion.
Small mishaps which happen in between go completely unnoticed. The measures should have been taken after reporting these many accidents on the road. The government has exposed its lack of sensitivity by not doing so. It is universally accepted that good transport facilities are necessary for the development of the region. However, it should also be pondered upon why this expressway built at the cost of crores of rupees is becoming a death trap at every kilometre. This is an example of contractor-oriented development. The locals of Panjim are also experiencing the same. Despite spending crores of funds, the first few showers of the monsoon were enough to wash off and expose the shoddy quality of development related works, under Smart City.
The case is similar to that of the expressway. The expressway which was built to make traveling more convenient is turning into a death trap instead. There is silence over taking responsibility for deaths on the expressway and similarly, politicians who had confidently claimed that Panjim will not be flooded are keeping mum too. Even if the government argues that motorists are not driving responsibly, how was it not thought before that peoples' adrenaline would overpower their sense of responsibility on an expressway which is largely straight and hardly has any winding sections. The government is bound to answer why they opened the route for transport without erecting enough sign boards and other cautionary signs. The government system is equally responsible for the mishaps. However, the attitude to blame every factor except the authorities is dangerous.