It has been 360 days since I last wrote my diary. A ritual I followed since my marriage in 1987. I have my life history in volumes of diaries and can find out what I have done on most days in the past years. But today, I finally gathered the courage to glance through the diary almost sensing something…
Last year, it was on this day that Aru had visited home from Vellore , sat on our kitchen top and told me about her insecurities on the roads of Vellore..her words were ” Aaiee. baba, my heart comes into my mouth till I reach my destination either the hospital or my hostel. The roads are so so bad!”

At that point we told her to get a car which would be safer. She was hesitant and reluctant because she did not have that much savings. But we told her that we would loan her the money which she could pay us back . This was done solely with the intend to acknowledge the self respect of a young couple who worked hard and did not take the parents help or money for granted.There was a sense of pride to know that both my would be son in law and daughter were both hard working , self respecting children.

The question was about the road …we had seen with our own eyes when we had been to Vellore the conditions of Vellore roads and this particular road which they travelled on from their hostel to CMC.

What happened during the early hours of the 9th of September precisely a week after this conversation was unbelievable and horrendous..the road killed my daughter…

I have not slept since thinking ‘ What if? And ‘ only if…’
There are many ‘ what ifs..and an equal number of only if’…
Through the pangs of guilt, the gut wrenching pain, the nightmares and horrors of the manner in which she died came the realization that this is not fate but our collective doings as irresponsible parents and citizens. We speak for ourselves. The Arundhati Foundation is thus born out of the lessons we learn.
It is not enough that we cry at our do called ‘ fate’ but we also do something to see that such so called incidents of fate are not part of the fate of others.

Today a lot of transport lobbies are coming together to oppose the new Road Safety Bill which is being proposed by the new Government . The Arundhati Foundation is a part of the ‘ COLOURS ‘ initiative where ten road safety organizations have been trying hard to promote the new Road Safety Bill which has been promised and proposed by the GOVERNMENT.
This bill which started as a powerful bill has undergone umpteen revisions to dilute it to such an extent to lose its teeth under the pressure of various lobbies. And now they are trying to further hinder progress calling for a Bandh .

Bangalore has earned the notorious reputation of being one of the cities with the highest number of road accidents and deaths. Yesterday, The Times of India has brought out the heart breaking story of the death of Sunitha Kumar who succumbed to the injuries she sustained on 23rd of August . That day she lost her son Likhith all of nine years, when in an attempt to avoid pot hole at the SRS junction she swerved to the right and her son came under a speeding private bus and died on the spot. ‘ The government has destroyed our family ‘ said her elder sister Sumitra.
The Vellore municipality is responsible for killing my daughter.
Yesterday a 27-year old police constable was killed on the spot when his motorcycle collided with a truck. The truck driver was allegedly in an inebriated condition.

These deaths are merely statistics for the rest of the world and yet, accidents are the latest epidemics to strike our country. Sixteen people die on Indian roads every hour that is equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing everyday

The irresponsibility of people behind the wheel, the care a damn attitude to rules and regulations, the general disrespect to fellow travelers, use of mobiles while driving, drunk driving, the kind of roads and the general apathy of each and everyone of us is responsible for the deaths on our roads.

We need tough laws only because it seems that unless we are punished we never seem to learn. Why is everybody so scared of the laws? Why does every lobby want the laws to be changed? Does that mean we are only thinking of punishment? But why are we thinking of the punishment ? Punishment is only IF and WHEN we violate a rule.Are these people who want to bring the nation to a halt planning to violate the rules?
I hope not. If you follow the laws why do you need to worry?
Why do you need the bandh?

Today’s Hindu has published an article on Mr Gangadhara Tilak of Hyderabad who is fondly called ‘The pot-hole Doctor’

After we lost Aru in the accident, our restless minds and troubled souls would keep looking for something to fill this ” hole’ in our hearts..it was then that we read an article on Mr Tilak and send out a mail to him on the 3rd of June 2015 for guidance.

Not only did Mr Tilak guide us, he sent this mail to us.
Initially we wondered what ‘ just the two of us’ could do..but Mr Tilak started on his own.
He has been our inspiration.
Thank you Sir, for your direction and encouragement.

I share his letter with all our friends today
Mr Tilak writes. And I quote..

****

Dear sir

Seen your website.

We express our deepest sorrow after coming to know that your daughter, Arundhati is no more among us due to bad road accident.

You are doing a great service to our society . God bless you and madam .
We are praying God to bless you with more health and wealth to do more service .

Your proposal for filling pothole to prevent accidents and to save lives is appreciable .

To start with this work a truck ( POTHOLE AMBULANCE) is essential and it is very easy to get the required tools for this purpose .

The only costly affair is to purchase the material. Cold mix , ready made material ( shelmac) is now available in market in 30 kg packs which is more reliable material to fix the potholes and easy to carry out the work. ( once we start this, subsequently we may manage to get the material from municipality , as I’m getting at Hyderabad now)

Few safety precautions to be taken while filling potholes .
The safety of our volunteers is very important.
Another , important aspect is that the potholes filled by us should not become another
source for accidents….utmost care to be followed in pothole filling method.

Before going with this proposal, please find out the material availability at your nearest point
Just by searching in the Internet . Hope that you can get it at Bangalore .

Once, we are ready with our plan to fill the potholes, we can start it on any day in the month of September where my self also can participate in that holy task.

Now I’m in USA with my son, and we will be back in August ending.

Thank you sir

Best regards
Gangadhara Tilak

I am thrilled that people like Mr Tilak not only help fellow countrymen expecting nothing in return but are also a source of strength and inspiration to a lot of other people.
Stay safe and watch that pothole!

I open the newspaper with anxiety every morning.

Open any newspaper in any city of our country. There is more bad news than good..but my eyes are drawn inadvertently to the news about accidents and those leading to deaths. There is atleast one two wheeler accident everyday leading to the loss of a precious life.
On Sunday morning a nine year old boy lost his life a pot holed road and a speeding truck.
Yesterday a 21 year old newly married girl lost hers. She came under a speeding truck.
These lives are just statistics now..Statistics.

So today let me share some statistics.
Just to spread awareness among the friends of the foundation.
There are 16 deaths on Indian roads every hour.
25 % of all accidents involve two wheelers .
17% involve lorries and buses.
Over speeding and overloading are responsible for 62% of accidents.
6 % of accidents occur because of bad roads including pot holes.
32% due to drunken driving.

If you look at these statistics, you will realize that all these accidents are preventable with a change in behaviour.
Today’s paper also brought the news about compulsory helmet use for the pillion riders. They are more at risk than the rider of the bike.
Don’t blame fate..Accidents can be prevented.
Just like small pox and polio.
Think about it.

I leave you with this photo that was published in yesterday’s Hindu..two wheeler riders especially pillion riders are the most vulnerable on our roads .. Why this unnecessary risk?

On  Sunday 26 July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought Road Safety to the fore. Mann Ki Baat 2015-07-26. The PM especially says that apart from government, it is also the duty of families to inform youngsters about importance of road safety.

Today’s Hindu carries an article on the initiative of the National Safety Organization and the Bangalore Traffic Police  Catching Them Young With Traffic Lessons

The Arundhati Foundation applauds them.

We are also working along similar lines. We have put together an awareness program for school children. Considering the audience, the focus is

• safety for pedestrians ( walking or crossing the roads )
• safety for two-wheelers ( both cycle, and scooters to include senior students ), and
• safety for children ( younger siblings and friends, safe behaviour when riding in cars or pillion on two-wheelers )

We will share more after we conduct a session.

One other group that is of interest is the people with learner’s license – preparing to be regular drivers.

Given the complexity of the problem of Road Safety, work has to be done on all fronts : Education, Engineering, and Enforcement. By inculcating these values of safety in the young generation, we have a better chance to improving safety on our roads.

The Hindu reported a nice initiative from GVK-Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) ‘108’ Ambulance Service : Using the app to call the ambulance service easily, to determine location of the caller swiftly, and directing the closest available ambulance.

App For 108 Ambulance

On Jul 10, 2015, the Hindu reported the lack of coordination between BWSSB and BBMP : Unmaking Of A Road

This is not new, and yet every time it happens, we hear the same stories about how there is no communication between the agencies. The news report says that the agencies have been directed to meet once/week to improve coordination.

Our submission is that the process has to be aided by technology to provide transparency, and complete visibility. The projects can be easily located on the Bangalore map. This can happen as soon as the project intent is known. The updates will be instantaneously visible on the map, and thus conflicts can be highlighted. Decisions can be faster, and better-informed, with the aid of data.

In a related article in the same newspaper, Roads Still Riddled With Potholes, BBMP is said to have set a deadline of 10 days to fill 3623 potholes.

Once again, there is no sanctity to these numbers unless there is transparency. The same technology can be leveraged to identify the problem location, check that the fix location matches, and share with the public.