THE OTHER SIDE
Paritosh Kimothi
Dehradun recently saw five murders within about 15 days and somehow this elicited shock and excited talk for a few days about how the law and order situation has deteriorated here and in other parts of the State where murders were reported. Then there is the issue of traffic congestion and the resulting air pollution, which has been causing concern among locals for some time with some observers now calling for special efforts as implemented in Delhi.
Experts might be better suited to define the term for this condition- people themselves creating a problem, expressing concern for it and then also blaming the authorities for not being able to do their job efficiently. However, one part of the problem is that most of the ‘experts’ too are busy with the general public building problems that affect us all and blame the powers that be. It is not as if the authorities are clean and cannot be blamed but let us logically muse over the basics of what ails us.
People in Dehradun and elsewhere in Uttarakhand being shocked by a spurt in crime is actually surprising. For many years now, we have been making a big show of blatantly violating various laws while also cocking a snook at basic civic sense and common sense, to our own detriment. Most of the time when one phoned the police to complain about noise being generated at a function, the reply was that noise was allowed till 10 PM. After that time, the police generally acted swiftly with the average time being about half an hour from when the call was made to when the volume was either lowered or the noise was shut- in some cases temporarily.
It is actually disappointing to note that the authorities are ignorant of the law and orders of the courts setting a decibel limit to sound systems even before 10 PM. What is more alarming is that society considers it normal to blast all types of noise ranging from ‘devotional’ and pop to carnal in the name of celebration while being completely insensitive to the actual problems it is causing to others. Having fun while causing pain or actually serious problems for others is an aspect also seen in other scenarios like serious crimes. But the society and the government have been normalising this for years and caused desensitisation in general.
As attitudes do not limit their impact to one aspect, similar effects are seen on the roads in the city and elsewhere in the State. Drive as if the road is your private garden, do not use civic or common sense and let us collectively ensure congestion and accidents on the roads. The opening of the Dehradun-Delhi expressway is expected to bring with it a major rise in traffic load in the provisional State capital. Elevated road corridors and new roads through wooded areas aimed at decreasing the traffic load might end up doing the opposite, as many fear.
However, instead of going only for measures like those taken in Delhi, it would be much more beneficial if the root cause is ascertained and addressed. To know this, one must understand that common and civic sense along with basic respect for the law begins at home and school. The absolute disdain for this is clearly visible outside most schools in the so-called education hub. The children are either not taught or don’t care to act as taught and in most cases, their parents further encourage them by violating traffic rules and norms of civic sense on the roads with their children observing and imitating them. Same is the case with another major problem- garbage. Dehradun is supposedly the most developed city in the State but a considerable proportion of its population including those with monthly cash inflow amounting to lakhs of rupees still prefer to dump trash in public spaces or burn it rather than paying a meagre amount for garbage collection. The municipal authorities have failed to ensure that people dispose of garbage as required instead of littering.
In all these instances, we the people have been contaminating our surroundings, celebrating the perversion of our culture and casually breaking laws meant to ensure our welfare. Then we blame the authorities when the impact of our actions hits us. Most governments believe in appeasement and complacency as that is what ensures that the politicians thrive. If the government is serious, it should execute its responsibility of correcting the public when it goes wrong instead of encouraging wrongdoings to become part of the culture and social norms.
The result of the collective apathy of the public and the government will be harder for Uttarakhand to handle in a few years from now. It remains to be seen whether the government and the people wake up, even though it seems unlikely with the usual ‘issues’ likely to take up space with the elections slated to be held next year.
