India lacks a good urban transport policy

I am compelled to write this blog as someone who has seen the travails of transiting 60 kms daily right through the heart of Hyderabad. Over the past 10 years, I have seen the volume of traffic grow in geometric proportions. The Government's response seems to be to keep on adding fly-overs, road extensions etc only to find that they are not enough for the ever growing number of private vehicles.In my opinion, the Government should stay away from adding new roads and concentrate on improving the public transport. A good public transport system will wean away the public from using their vehicles leading to decongestion of roads. In addition, emissions would go down and our dependence on fossil fuels would also go down leading to energy security. Remember that India still imports 75% of its oil requirements, a major portion of which is consumed for transportation needs.

Other measures should include providing clear and clean footpaths to the public. Hyderabad has practically no footpaths. More often than not a pedestrian is treated with contempt and arrogance by the commuters on vehicles. May be it is time to add one more fundamental right - the right to walk. We should also encourage people to use bicycles. Today, people riding bicycles have greater chances of meeting an accident than any others. Separate pavements need to be provided for them. We often see that people use vehicles even for commuting short distances. If the government could provide incentives for bicyclists and pedestrians, as mentioned above, I am sure that they would be more than willing to not use their vehicles.

People should placed at the center of any urban transport policy. Unfortunately, our policies in this regard are skewed. There is a clear danger that we might be caught in a vicious cycle of more roads, more vehicles and even more roads. A proper transport policy with the focus on people would cut down emissions, reduce our dependence on oil and improve the health indicators of our billion plus population. I only hope the Government starts looking at this new approach.

I cried listening to this!!!

Okay, I am so bored these days and what better way to kill time than be on YouTube. YouTube's got to be man's greatest invention thus far. In short, it brings TV to office....that could have been every man's dream. Go technology. Anyways, so I was exploring my fav artist Keith Urban's songs and came across this which I sure heard before but never paid much attention to it. Somehow, this time, it brought out all the feelings that have been pent up by me for the past 6 months owing to academic purposes. Here it goes

Can't get these lyrics out of my head

I just love these lyrics. However, if I hear the song, I find it a little karaoke

Here's the song BTW,



To kiss and tell
It's just not my style
But the night is young
And it's been awhile

And she broke my heart
Broke it right in two
And it's fixing time
But I'm feeling like I'm finally ready to
Find, find somebody new

I wanna kiss a girl
I wanna hold her tight
And maybe make a little magic in the moonlight

Don't wanna go too far
Just to take it slow
But I shouldn't be lonely in this big ol' world
I wanna kiss a girl

It's that moment when
You start closing in
First you're holding back
Then surrendering

It can start a fire
Light up the sky
Such a simple thing
Do you wanna try?

Are you ready to
Say goodbye
To all these blues?

I wanna kiss a girl
I wanna hold her tight
And maybe make a little magic in the moonlight

Don't wanna go too far
Just to take it slow
But I shouldn't be lonely in this big ol' world
I wanna kiss a girl

'Cause, baby, tonight
It could turn into the rest of our lives
Oh yeah
Are you ready?
(Are you ready?)
Are you ready
(Are you ready)
To cross that line?
Put your lips on mine

Ooh, put your lips on mine, baby

Do you wanna try?
Are you ready to
Say goodbye
To all these blues?

I wanna kiss a girl
I wanna hold her tight
And maybe make a little magic, baby

Don't wanna go too far
Just to take it slow
Don't want you to be lonely
I shouldn't be lonely

I wanna kiss a girl
I wanna hold her tight
And maybe make a little magic in the moonlight
Don't wanna go too far
Just to take it slow
But I shouldn't be lonely in this big ol' world
I wanna kiss a girl

I said I wanna kiss a girl
Whoa ho, whoa ho
I wanna kiss a girl
I wanna hold her tight
I wanna make a little magic
Out under the moonlight

Ooh I wanna kiss you now