John Denver’s famous song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, was inspired by his two colleagues’ memories of travelling through the teeny-weeny country roads to enjoy the beauty and serenity, which they once did during their childhood days.
Every road is a road to home. Humans learnt the art of paving the way from animals. The earliest records of animal paths date back to around 6000 BCE and were found near springs in Jericho. Over the centuries, many factors have contributed to the growth of human civilisation, and one of the most important contributors is the network of roads.
The ever-changing nature of the market, the network of roads, and other modes of transportation are the main artillery of every economy. The longest road in the world to walk is from Cape Town (South Africa) to Magadan (Russia). It is 22,387 km long. The earliest constructed roads built for trade and communication date back to around 4000 BCE in Mesopotamia. Humans understood the importance of a good network of roads soon after they settled in communities to live in an organised society. Communication and the exchanging of goods and products are essential for the growth of human civilisation and are vital for the advancement of the economy.
History speaks clearly that the roads have influenced human development and suggests that in many ways roads have directly reflected the condition and attitudes of the people of those times. In recent times, India has significantly invested in building and constructing new roads and highways. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana envisages a grand plan to ensure that more remote areas gain vital road access, thereby fostering economic growth and improving the quality of life for rural populations.
Although an ancient civilisation, India is a fairly young democracy, and to its credit, India has the second-largest road network in the world, after the United States of America, with just under 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometres) of roads. What a remarkable accomplishment! Yes indeed, but it comes with a rider. The cost of constructing a highway in India is 5 times that in the USA, and this is despite cheaper labour. Besides, American roads are generally of good quality, but Indian roads are mostly of poor quality, many times unmotorable. In the United States, the road infrastructure is characterised by well-maintained highways and roads that connect cities, towns, and rural areas.
The quality of roads is generally high, with smooth surfaces, proper signage, and well-marked lanes. The American road network is known for its efficiency and safety. The quality of Indian roads often varies, with some national highways being world-class while others struggle with potholes and inadequate maintenance. And the rural roads are mostly in pathetic condition. The million-dollar question, which the nation wants to know, is why is the government constructing poor-quality roads despite spending more money and having cheap labour? What is the missing link, and where is it? Without a doubt, corruption and more corruption are the missing link.
The government of the day fills their coffers by applying a percentage to every project with a minimum of 15 percent, and this percentage varies but never less. Road quality is a crucial part of the infrastructure of any country, not only for the growth of the economy but also for the safety of human life. Sadly, the focus of the Indian government is more on their own well-being, which is the reason for the loss of thousands of lives on roads every year. There is an idiom, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
The highest number of road accidents and fatalities in India is due to the deep-seated corruption that has led to ill-planned and disastrous roads. Who is responsible? And, will someone take the responsibility? In 2023, India saw a record high number of road accident deaths, with an estimated 1.73 lakh people killed. This is equivalent to an average of 474 deaths per day. The number of injuries also increased, with nearly 4.63 lakh people injured in 2023. If people should demand justice, the whole of government machinery would be behind bars serving life sentences. But a corrupt judiciary is also of no help, and so the horror story continues.
Check this out: The ‘Bharatmala’ project, where the cost of construction has doubled from 15.37 crore per kilometre to over 32 crore per km. The Dwarka motorway construction cost went up from Rs 18 crore per km to Rs 250 crore per km to construct 2 km of the Dwarka Motorway. Rs 500 crore is what it took a ‘Mangalyaan’ to go. The NHAI has looted common citizens of this country to the tune of Rs 132 crore, only when 5 toll plazas were audited. Imagine if every toll plaza in this country was audited; what would the tune of this scam be? On account of corruption, those lakhs of people who succumbed on roads every year can’t say, “Take me home, country roads.” Besides, those million others who die of hunger and live below the poverty line because of this malice. And yet, the politicians and those responsible for X-number of deaths on the road are unmindful and sleep without any remorse.
Who will remind humanity that once and only once we pass this way, for this world is not our permanent destination? Make it better. Yes indeed, we are just passing through, and roads are a record of those who have gone before. The tragedy of roads in India is that they cry out of corruption and destruction, with bad engineering and unscientific design. “Black spots” and “potholes” are major problems on Indian roads, causing accidents, traffic jams, and vehicle damage. In 2022, potholes were responsible for 4,446 accidents, killing 1,856 people and injuring 3,734 others.
In 2016, the Union Minister for Road Transportation and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, slammed the authorities for the unscientific construction of roads; however, it's déjà vu even in 2025. The song, “Road to Hell”, by Chris Rea, the British songwriter, inspired by the frustration of London motorway rush-hour traffic, resonates in India today more than ever before. Is this the legacy we want to pass on to the next generation? On the other hand, the Railways in India are part of the legacy of the British Empire. Nowhere other than India is the railway so indelibly connected with the image of the nation. The British East India Company and the colonial British government developed railways in India. The Indian railway network carries around 24 million passengers daily. Just as there is no single country on earth that has such a broad cultural, ethnic, and racial mix as India, there is also no railway system that has played and, crucially, continues to play such a fundamental role. The slogan, “India Shinny” by BJP is a fake legacy. We have to remember, roads were made for journeys, not destinations. Although roads are paved with good intention, can the travellers in India therefore say, “Take Me Home, Country Roads?” Or, Chris Rea will say, this is a road to hell.
(The author is a priest
based at Pilar, Goa)