Jyotishraj Thoudam
Perhaps the public has given up in complaining about potholes, slimy roads & quality of the asphalt to the concerned. I am not a Political Science student, neither is a vast majority of the people. However, one cannot help noticing the adverse effects of the conditions of the road.
We humans are social beings, but how do we become a social creature, it is by communication on a multiple level & via various routes.
How better example is there than looking at the obvious catastrophic disaster right in front of our eyes. As a case in point the riverside roads are among in the most horrible state. There is a famous example in science concerning a frog in a boiling pot of water. Briefly speaking, a frog inside cold water is slowly heated and as the temperature of the water increases, the frog fails to notice the water becoming hot slowly, and ultimately the frog dies. But another frog will resist jumping inside the same hot water.
As a citizen, perhaps we have become the frog inside the pot of boiling water, unable to notice the slowly heating of the water. One cannot put it in a more significant analogy; we must always check the temperature so that we jump out of it.
We must agree, from a collective point of view, that we have failed on an epic scale in being aware of the situation. We have become complacent & laziness has crept in, in all areas of the both the government and the public at large. The roads have become dangerous in the same degree, for the rich & the poor. Skidding, slipping, erosion, puddles are no longer becoming a side show; it has grown from a nuisance to a bread and butter which we have wilfully ignored. Even for those (the sufficiently) who own a four-wheeler might think that they are safe, but this is not the case, as the roads can no longer provide sufficient friction. If four wheelers are not safe, imagine a two-wheeler, not to mention, a person who is writing this travels on foot by the riverside of Takyel Khongbal for teaching Mathematics, and not to mention the condition of “Lane 18” for 25 years. Therefore, it is our responsibility to seek our questions, inquiries even if we are not an expert in any field or subject, because we see the obvious hazard of complacency & lack of noticing the obvious reality. To end this, I quote Richard Feynman “Reality must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled”.
The writer is a PhD student, Mechanical Engi- neering Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar and can be reached at Official Mail: jyotishraj.
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