A few days ago the Chief Minister of Delhi Ms. Sheila Dikshit had stated that the people of Delhi are to be blamed for the traffic jams in the city. She isn’t entirely wrong, when she makes such statements. We all have the tendency to break the rules for our convenience whether on the road or off the road.

Traffic Jam at ITO

Traffic Jam at ITO

Don’t we break the lane system? This is one of the most common forms of traffic violations. It may also be possible that many of us don’t even know the lane system means or what the signboards on the road stand for. We just change the lanes with least respect for other vehicles on the road. We never hesitate to overtake other vehicles from left side, which is illegal too.

Don’t we block the left turn even when it’s free? It’s something which we often encounter on Delhi roads and I’m certain that it’s an experience that holds good in most other Indian cities – the pride with which drivers block the free left turn, when they have to go straight. We just block the left lane in the sake of reaching ahead of the race. But we forget that it’s a road not a racing track. It stops the flow of traffic and more & more vehicles add to the jam.

Don’t we park at the tow away zones or near red lights? On my way home from office, there is a red light in the end of Siri fort road. Almost every day, two-three cars are always parked just before the red light and it makes that road more congested. Also people block the road on the left lane even when the signal is green for left turn.

Don’t we stop or slowdown our vehicles outside worship places? I often go to my office via Lodhi Road and I always know that I will reach late on Thursdays because Sai Baba’s temple is there. We stop our vehicles outside the temple and touch the road or bow to get the blessings of baba. But it occurs to none, the inconvenience that others might experience because of this.

A two-wheeler rider outside a temple

A two-wheeler rider outside a temple

Don’t we go towards wrong side or take illegal U-turns?

We all can contribute to reduce traffic jams by following rules. All these efforts may not solve this problem completely but it will certainly help. And no one will be able to blame us. Whenever we are stuck in a traffic jam, we should think of all those instances when we have broken these rules and contributed to Traffic Jams.

A rare sight in India, all the vehicles have stopped before the stop line

A rare sight in India, all the vehicles have stopped before the stop line

Please share your suggestions to reduce traffic jams in the comment box below.

PS: In the next part, I will try to point the areas where government is found faulty or can extend its influence to curb jams.

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{ 5 comments }

I clicked these pictures at Chawri Bazar. Hats-off to these guys. They were propagating the information about TB and DOTS by distributing brochures. It was a small road show. We should learn the spirit from them.

Learn spirit from them
Handicaps fighting against TB
Handicaps fighting against TB

DOTS - Sure cure for TB

DOTS - Sure cure for TB

For more information on TB visit http://www.tbcindia.org.

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Much has been said, and much has been claimed and in the midst of this chaos, the simple truths were forgotten and overlooked. Every year, as the monsoon arrives, life is plagued by multiple woes; starting from water logging to various other issues. And as the monsoon clouds disappear, so is the common man’s angst against the MCD. However, one that is perennial, unlike the monsoon is the smelling garbage truck that you often end up following on your way to work, shards of decomposed stink flying from its coverless garbage. Several years ago, the Chief Minister of Delhi had made it mandatory for all garbage trucks to cover the waste with a canvas or a tarpaulin and to have more number of covered garbage trucks. But sadly enough, this isn’t the only promise that vanished into thin air. We can still see the trucks full of awful smelling garbage plying either uncovered or covered with a tattered polythene sheet or few sacks.

Uncovered garbage truck

Uncovered garbage truck

The problem doesn’t end here only. Walk down the roads of any colony and one common sight is either the overflowed garbage bin or huge area of spilled rags, attracting the stray dogs, pigs, scavengers, mosquitoes.etc.

Spilled garbage on the road

Spilled garbage on the road

It was said that there will be a pair of dustbin of different colors so that the garbage can be segregated into bio-degradable & non-degradable stuff and dumped accordingly. We can see these dustbins at some places but it remains questionable about the rate of their success. The lack of awareness is one of the major reasons for this.

The problem is that the civic body creates rules but hardly does anything to follow those rules or they make sure they are followed. The Kuda wala’s who come to our doorstep they also do not segregate the degradable and non-degradable stuff. In fact even if we keep them separate, they mix those and dump at the same place. Nobody is there to get hold of these people creating mess like overcharging, not collecting garbage from houses on regular basis and so on.

When we do not like litters inside our house then we should also make sure the surrounding of our house is clean. It is our civic and moral responsibility to maintain cleanliness both inside and outside the house. In fact if we can be conscientious to stop others from making our surrounding dirty, it will be easier for us to maintain cleanliness.

Charity begins at home. So if we the readers of this article start the practice and encourage other, which I am sure most of us will, then many others will also join us. Why not live in a beautiful and clean city & be proud of it, rather than regretting upon the fact that the city is dirty and we have to live with it. Let’s own this city for once.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

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{ 1 comment }

We at WECONSCIOUS wish our readers a very happy and prosperous New Year 2010. Weconscious resolute for working towards it’s motto to make people conscious of things happening around them.

We would like to recall posts through which we have tried to create awareness:

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Winter is also known as the season of marriages in several sub-Indian cultures. Come winter, and the roads are flanked by coloured lights and processions of dancing people. Our houses are filled with invitation cards, party clothes, clashing dates and the best of food.

We all have attended Indian wedding parties but how many of us realize how much food goes into waste during such parties? There are no official or unofficial estimates, even though we unanimously agree that wastage can be unimaginably massive. Here are a few tips to minimize, if not stop wastage completely during Indian weddings.

  1. Since most weddings are turning into buffet system, it’s the responsibility of the guest to help the size of the servings according to their apetite.
  2. If you aren’t sure, which dish you are actually going to eat; take spoonfulls of each to taste and decide, instead of filling the plate with every dish.
  3. Many Indian weddings have gone completely vegeterian and there are others, which serve both vegeterian and non-vegeterian dishes. It is our responsibility to fill our plates according to our eating habits. Its sheer waste to fill one’s plates with dishes that we do not eat, only to realize later and discard the food in the bins.
Wasted food in the bin

Wasted food in the bin

No matter how much noise we make about the economic development in India, we can never deny the fact that India also hosts one of the biggest armies of starving people in the world. The food that we waste will inevitably land in the garbage bins. But if we play our roles a little carefully and take only as much as we intend to eat, the saved food will find its way into the empty stomach of those, who cannot afford to fill theirs.

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