By: Dr. Mohammad Aleem, Editor-ICN Group
NEW DELHI: would like to start my talk with one of my own personal experiences which was quite painful and traumatic. It was 2 November and I had to visit a very crowded area of the city, Pahad Ganj, where my two senior ICN friends, Dr Shah Ayaz Siddiqui and Shri Tarun Prakash had come with some official work and stayed there in a guest house. Naturally, I was informed in advance about their visit and as a colleague of the ICN Group, it was my responsibility to meet them and discuss the things.
I left my home in Jamia Nagar at 11 A.M. I usually prefer the public transport, mainly Delhi Metro to travel for ease, comfort and saving my travel time. Although, it has become crowded over the years and many fears to ride it just because of it, I still prefer it. I almost get dread to think about the taxis and autos. Here, most of the taxi drivers are unreliable, rude and unkind. They will hardly book your service until you come according to their own choice and preference of place. It is the case with both Ola and Uber. They cancel the trip arbitrarily and deduct also the cancellation charges from your account without any fear of guilt and punishment.
The three wheeler drivers are one of the cruel and ugly beasts of Delhi, which have become quite thick skinned and fatter in rudeness, thuggery and ignorance due to unwavering support of their political master, Arvind Kejriwal. These auto drivers have made a rule unto themselves never to go by the meters and refuse and drop the passengers on the slightest whim of their choice and convenience. These morons don’t even spare elderly and ill people.
The other natural choice for me was the DTC bus. I had not ridden it since a long time, so I did not know much about its current situation. But as the Kejriwal Government has boasted a lot about its free ride for women, I took it as an opportunity to gauge the situation from the ground. So, finally, I boarded a green DTC bus from the Okhla Bus Stand after a long 20 minutes wait.
The bus was not overcrowded as I had feared, but I found it utterly dirty and unkempt. It’s almost every part was coming off as a rogue guy ready to bare himself under the open sun.
Luckily, I got a rickety seat to sit on. But the air in and out of the bus was so dirty, hazardous and suffocating due to the killing level of pollutants in Delhi, I soon started feeling restless. At one point of time, I thought to return back home. But I kept my journey on due to my guests of the ICN who had come from a far place, Lucknow.
Still, Delhi’s condition is almost the same. After many days gap, today I could gather the strength to go for my regular morning walk fearing that it might harm me.
But the question here arises that why the capital city Delhi and many other such big cities have become like Hitler’s gas chamber? When will it come to an end?
Today’s Hindustan Times in its editorial has succinctly and beautifully described the situation. It says:
“Especially with elections due in Delhi early next year, there is a whole lot of politics going on, even as Delhi chokes. The behaviour of our political class is, at best, callous and opportunistic and, at worst, irresponsible.”
I think the whole problem lies in our faulty democratic functioning of the country where utterly morons, uncivilized and highly corrupt people get elected and go to the parliament and legislative assemblies. They don’t pollute these great institutions only, but also pollute the government machinery and the general public also. God knows better when we will start behaving and working like a mature democracy and ethical citizens of the world.
