Drive it with flowers!
Sometimes, the appearance seems to be more important than safety on our roads. I saw several autos, vans and cars bedecked with flowers in this way, on the eve of Bali Padyami. How the drivers of such vehicles can drive safely is beyond me. While such festive displays make for quaint, National-Geographic-type of photography, how is it that the traffic police look the other way when road safety is so blatantly compromised?
Children and adults pedalling to school, work and play — this was a common sight on Pune's streets not so long ago. Once known for its vibrant cycling culture, the city still has many groups and communities that promote non-motorised transport. However, with the rise of motorised vehicles, cycling has not only taken a back seat, but has also become unsafe and inconvenient due to poor infrastructure. This is despite Pune having dedicated cycle tracks and lanes. The decline in cycling infrastructure is reiterated by a recent audit, which found that only 11% of cycle tracks in Pune fell in…
Bengaluru is racing to bridge the gap between first-mile and last-mile connectivity in public transport, but for people with disabilities, the journey is riddled with obstacles. Inaccessible bus stops and terminals in the city keep them excluded. “I have been travelling on muscle memory alone. There are no supportive facilities or infrastructure in bus stops or terminals,” says Mohan Kumar, a visually-impaired person who has been commuting in Bengaluru buses since 2012. The exclusion starts at the bus stop. “Even if buses are inclusive, it is nearly impossible to reach the bus stops in Bengaluru due to poor design and…