Calcutta's traffic - a serious joke

"Bus passengers' arms ripped off" read today's headline of 'Times of India'

Aug 26: The morning was like any other, except the news of reckless driving made headlines this time. Two buses rammed into each other resulting in one of the gruesome accidents in Kolkatas's reckless traffic history. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/Bus-passengers-arms-ripped-off/articleshow/4934927.cms)

This is the latest in a series of serious road mishaps that have blood stained the roads of kolkata. Just to jog your memory, here are few recent ones:

Aug 25: Racing buses kill women at Howrah and Esplanade http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070826/asp/bengal/story_8238884.asp

July 5: Bus veers off Howrah rail bridge, 12 killed
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bus-falls-on-rail-tracks-in-Kolkata-6-killed/articleshow/4737966.cms

The link below talks about a few other such accidents.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/Rage-recklessness-lead-to-spate-of-accidents/articleshow/4934826.cms

These are the ones that made the tabloids, but there are countless others that barely reached notice in side columns or don't even make it. Despite repeated events of speeding buses and reckless drivers causing accidents, the state government has not accepted responsibility to curb such events. Every time such event occurs, the state government intitiates some or the other action, although no serious results have taken effect.

I am often a witness to such reckless driving by state buses/whiteliners that ply the E.M. Bypass on my way to office. While government machinery is to blame for state run buses, private vehicles are no better as they happily chose to ignore the traffic lights in pedestrian-heavy stops like Lake Town and Bangur Avenue.

I blame lack of policy measures and planning for the grim situation that our city is currently in. One such example is phasing out of old vehicles without replenishing the streets with new ones, causing a havoc during office hours as passengers rush to board already packed buses and autos plying on roads. Other such policy lapses include inability of govt. to replace commission based incentive structure with fixed-pay structure for bus employees etc.

I also feel it is important that traffic rules are imposed strictly across the city, even if that means making an example out of cases that involve serious traffic violations. I believe, only by setting a high standard in following traffic regulations can instances of violation be reduced.

I only hope that Kolkata's administration wake up and take control of the situation before it is too late to salvage an already deteriorating condition.