5 May 2006<br><br><br><br>Dear Simon, Eric, Sunny and all friends in Sustran,<br><br>I was so surprised and disappointed by this article in the Guardian (a paper I associate with far greater sensibility and sensitiveness) that I passed it on to my list of friends inviting their comments. I'm passing them on to the Sustran community with the hope that it will show how overwhelming has been the negative response to this shallow article. Is there any way this can be communicated to the people who run the paper? I love to read George Monbiot in the Guardian as well as many other correspondents of this paper. It was a shock therefore to see such that a crass article being publiched by them.<br><br>We are certainly not impressed by a transport revolution that makes it easier for Mr Poonawalla to drive merrily from Mumbai to Pune on the Expressway (major portions of the top layer of which came unstuck during the heavy monssons a couple of years back) as we are not impressed by the dozens of flyovers being built with peoples funds in most growing cities in the country. We have been opposing them with some success in Pune, but haven't been able to kill them completely! <br><br>The kind of transport revolution we need in our cities is the total and radical transformation of Public Transport system to provide adequate, reliable and excellent service to majority of the travcelling public at affordable cost. That is what we have been pressing for through our advocacy efforts in Pune and we see some good coming out of it as some BRT routes are now being planned in the city. We've also been able to turn one major road into a Pedestrian Plaza for each Saturday and Sunday with the possibility of more car-free days added in future. <br><br>So if the Guardian wanted to write about the real revolution in transport, they should have mentioned efforts such as these instead of writing about the Rolls...<br>--<br>Sujit<br><br><br><br><br><br>Here are the comments (sorry for the long mail): <br>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>from Sujit Patwardhan<br><br>What do you think of this article?<br>Does it accurately describe the transport situation in our country? <br><br><br>India is on the road to a transport revolution<br><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,1765590,00.html" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,1765590,00.html</a><br><br>--<br> Sujit<br> -------------------------------------------<br><div><font face="Arial" size="2">Dear Sujit,</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">It probably makes good reading for the "India Shining" and "Feel-good" types, but as journalism I find it poor, especially coming from a newspaper which I have highly respected.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">OK, the Quadrilaterals and the Corridors may put us on par with China as far as long-distance inter-city movement goes, but what about intra-city traffic and transport infrastructure?</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">And I would like to know something about the fate of the tens of thousands of farmers whose land must have been acquired to make way for these grand projects.  Did they have any say in the matter?  How and where were they rehabilitated?  What about their livelihoods (compensations don't go very far, as we all know).</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">And does the Guardian really expect us to believe there has no corruption?  What about the young IIT engineer who was murdered for blowing the whistle?</font> </div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Mr. Poonawala's urban elite outpourings about cows and people in the street sound as if he has never really lived in India.  His Rolls may be good for his ego, but it does not belong here unless he intends to spend all his driving life on the expressways.  I still have memories of how Mr. S. L. Kirloskar's Lincoln Continental, even in days when there were far fewer cars on the roads, looked an incongruous joke on the streets of Pune.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">And those subplots about Ford-India's increased output, and Maruti-Suzuki's Japanese work culture -- how are they relevant to the main story?</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Maybe it is not the job of a newspaper report to cover all these (and many more) issues.  But there must be a forum somewhere to address them.  The Highways project is a fait accompli, but it raises a number of questions regarding equity and economic and social justice, appropriate technologies for infrastructure, and several others, which we need to place centrestage in development dialogue.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Thinking and acting big is fine, but not at the cost of the small people who still are a majority of our population.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">Vivek</font> <br>Vivek Khadpekar from Ahmedabad, Gujarat<br></div> <div> <br>-----------------------------------------------------------------<br><br><div style="direction: ltr;"><div>This article might have had more credibility if it had started by accurately describing the state of the roads today - full of potholes, rubble, and patchwork.  This state of affairs is directly linked to the mental make-up of the govt, both local and central, that anyone who has a car is a scheming so-and-so who deserves to be blindsided. (and doesn't deserve anything resembling a decent road !)    And what's with the Rolls Royce and silver handled umbrella ?   Why does everything have to be reported in an extreme manner ? </div> <div>It just takes away from the substance of the article</div> <div> </div> <div>As for the Golden Quadrilateral, what's been reported in the press is that construction has slowed down considerably and its running behind schedule and above cost estimates.  So, I'm left wondering.</div></div><span class="sg"> <div> </div> <div>Veena Singhal  <br>Mumbai<br></div></span><br>----------------------------------------------------------------<br><br><div><font face="Arial" size="2">I feel so bad for Mr. Poonawala!</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">I think that we should have (and still should) invest in our rail network instead. It is already extensive. No reason why it shouldn't be absolutely world class. Plus avoids over motorization and investment in air network, both heavily dependent on fossil fuel. We should just have excellent rail service for inter-city travel (convenient, comfortable, affordable) with some high-speed rail links for inter-metro travel.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">- Ranjit<br>Ranjit Gadgil from Pune<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------<br><br></font><br>And I thought the Guardian had more sense. Isn't there some way we can reply <br>and point out how idiotic the piece is? <br>---<br>Sherna<br>Sherna Gandhy<br>Pune<br><br><font face="Arial" size="2">----------------------------------------------------------<br><br></font> <p><font color="blue" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: blue;">I think the article looks at developing the CAR culture by building roads.  While every body likes good roads, the issue of MORE roads is serious in cultivating an unimaginable spiral of more CARS and MORE ROADS ….</span></font></p> <p><font color="blue" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: blue;">Ajay</span></font></p><p><font color="blue" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: blue;"> Ajay Phatak<br>Pune<br></span></font></p> <font face="Arial" size="2">----------------------------------------------------------<br><br></font><div style="direction: ltr;">I tend to partially disagree with Ajay, and also somewhat with Ranjit's earlier mail. I think building a good road network across the country (not just connecting the metros) will spur economic development and bring markets closer to producers. So, I am in favour of a good road network that supports quick and efficient freight transport, backed by a rail network that can carry passengers and cargo. I think (though I don't have numbers) there is enough evidence that laying a good road through a region has helped progress in the region. I also think the road network in India is woefully inadequate across the country (as against within cities like Pune). The reason I prefer roads supporting rail networks and not have rail networks all the way is the same reason why many of us believe a bus-based system for Pune may be better than a rail-based system: cost and flexibility. <br> <br> But of course, the reality of our GQ project is unfortunately very different and the implementation (in spite of the Guardian article) is nowhere near what it is supposed to be. And, of course, these highways should not encourage you to take your car when you want to visit the neighbouring city. I suppose that can be ensured through appropriate tolls and such. <br></div><div style="direction: ltr;"><span class="sg"> <br> Ashok<br>Ashok Sreenivas<br>Pune<br><br></span><font face="Arial" size="2">----------------------------------------------------------<br><br></font><div style="direction: ltr;"> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">By the way I agree with Ashok, in that I did not mean (although I may not have made that clear) that I am opposed to roads! In fact, smaller towns and villages will be better connected by way of roads, and certainly not rail, which Ashok is right in pointing out is very expensive. I also do not mean that the air network should not be developed.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">I only meant that I think we should turn our rail network into a fabulous underlying structure, over which a complementary road network can be laid down, either to fill in gaps or to provide extra carrying capacity. Each serves a purpose of its own. But rail, once developed, is FAR cheaper to carry cargo and passengers.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">In that sense I like the European model better than the American one, where rail has died a slow death. Incidentally, it was the rail that brought incredible prosperity to American towns on the frontier. Just as the British used rail strategically to be able to both rule and exploit India.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">In the end its about deciding a comprehensive strategy that caters to the strengths that we possess. The GQ sadly is just a fancy project.</font></div></div><div style="direction: ltr;"><span class="sg"> <div> </div> <div><font face="Arial" size="2">- Ranjit<br>Ranjit Gadgil<br>Pune<br><br></font><font face="Arial" size="2">----------------------------------------------------------<br><br></font><div> <p><font color="blue" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: blue;">I have a slightly stronger view when it comes to moving goods thousands of miles for consumption!  I believe that we should look at the best local options for consumption.  The lesser we move goods – the better we are on overall environmental impact.  I am certainly not against good roads, I am against increasing this infrastructure to support "UNNECESSARY" and this could be argued quite a bit – movement of goods…. E,g many fruits travel from New Zealand to the UK …. Is this movement justified?<br>Regards,<br>Ajay</span></font></p><p><font color="blue" face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: blue;">Ajay Phatak, Pune</span></font></p><p><span class="sg"> <font face="Arial" size="2">----------------------------------------------------------</font></span></p><p><br><span class="sg"></span></p><p><span class="sg"><font face="Arial" size="2"><br></font></span></p></div><span class="q"> </span></div></span></div><span class="sg"><br></span></div><br><br><br></div><br><br><br></div><br><br>-- <br>------------------------------<div style="direction: ltr;">------------------------<br>Sujit Patwardhan<br><a href="mailto:sujit@vsnl.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> sujit@vsnl.com</a><br><a href="mailto:sujitjp@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">sujitjp@gmail.com</a><br></div><br><br><br><br><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>------------------------------------------------------ <br>Sujit Patwardhan<br><a href="mailto:sujit@vsnl.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> sujit@vsnl.com </a><br><a href="mailto:sujitjp@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">sujitjp@gmail.com</a><br><br> "Yamuna", <br>ICS Colony, <br>Ganeshkhind Road,<br>Pune 411 007<br>India<br>Tel: 25537955<br>-----------------------------------------------------<br>Hon. Secretary:<br>Parisar<br><a href="http://www.parisar.org" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> www.parisar.org</a><br>------------------------------------------------------<br>Founder Member: <br>PTTF <br>(Pune Traffic & Transportation Forum)<br><a href="http://www.pttf.net" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> www.pttf.net</a><br>------------------------------------------------------