Bloody Roads
Last week, a speeding bus skidded off a road and fell into a canal, snuffing out21 lives and leaving many more others traumatized, perhaps for life. Thataccident occurred because (1) drives of private buses in Kolkata get paid on acommission basis and hence drive rashly to pick up more passengers and increasetheir earnings and (2) the driver wasn't trained enough to drive a bus. Theseare two issues that have been discussed at numerous forums, especially aftermajor road accidents, and the state authorities have promised action many atime. But nothing has changed and buses continue to be driven brashly and rashlyby ill-trained drivers who think nothing of mercilessly mowing down people.Blood continues to be spilt on our roads and what's appalling and totallyunacceptable is the nonchalance of our elected representatives and officials ofthe transport and related departments who ought to take steps to preventrecurrence of such accidents. Strangely, and this can happen only in Kolkata,everyone seems to accept accidents as inevitable; after all, nothing can changea person's destiny. Such fatalistic acceptance of fate, without clamouring forand forcing the authorities to take corrective steps does Kolkata no good.