Sorry for the Apocalypse (or not?)

Successive dark tunnels.

Craters the size of earth’s moon.

Air as smoky as a thousand forests burning.

Almost no place to step a foot safely.

Showers bring misfortune and not relief.

People outside their homes might as well have been cursed by Fortuna.

Every day that someone makes it home safe, is nothing short of a miracle.

And many others like me suffer through this, regularly.
No, it’s not the apocalypse. It’s the roads of Behala.

The Joka-BBD Bag metro railway constructions had begun way back in July, 2011. The works resumed after a stall in 2012 and here we are, in 2016, still waiting for its completion. So we’ve had leap years twice in that time window, changed the government in the centre, seen Orkut phase out of existence, and witnessed “the King of Good Times” going bankrupt. And still we wait. The latest assurance claims that the work is expected to be completed by June, 2018,  by the latest. To believe that or not to believe, is the question that the commuters would be asking themselves. If you are one those among the unlucky bunch who has to travel across the D.H.Road stretch from Pathakpara to Joka, then there are some unique experiences you must have gathered, and all of them not just because of the metro railway work in progress.

If you are taking an auto-rickshaw ride and happen to sit in the front, then may the Lord bless you since you are hanging on to the steel holder for dear life as it bounces along, adjusting with the crater filled tracks. Bonus brownies if it has rained. Then the ride is an Aquatica water-ride at a significantly cheaper rate.

Buses are the primes of all the transportation vehicles. And so are their demands. Running behind them from one stop to the other because they wouldn’t stop, fighting with fellow commuters to get on board and finally ride on an imbalanced vehicle that slants so much to one side that it could turn upside down any moment.

And thank heavens for Ola, Uber and their kinds, otherwise the yellow taxis wouldn’t budge from any part of the city towards Behala. Never. A 50 minutes drive in normal traffic is a 1 hour and 56 minutes drive in Behala traffic.

Behala in 2011

Trying to cover a distance of one or two stops on foot is another deal, altogether. With almost non-existing footpaths and half the traffic passing over the road-verge, you are waddling through a stream of people, cars and bikes, dogs and cats, hawkers and makeshift shops, like Barry Allen at a normal speed. Only time walking peacefully is possible is when the city has a strike, the rate of which has surprisingly gone down over the years.

Picture courtesy: The Telegraph

What is commendable after all this, is the hope that people hold on to. Despite all the difficulties of everyday lives, the commuters cooperate in the belief that someday all of this will pay off and traveling would be smooth and peaceful. Leaving aside all the exaggerations and elements of humour, the situation in Behala and in all the other places where similar projects are going down, is not the safest. The alternatives put forward are not the best possible ones offered, once the regularities were disrupted. Every day, there are accidents, big and small. All that is requested is that the safety of the civilians be given more regards. Maybe it won’t be too bad to actually be “Sorry for the Inconvenience”.

Picture courtesy: Behala Facebook Page

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

SUCHARITA GANGULY IS A VERY NEW ADDITION TO OUR EXPRESS FAMILY. THIS MASS COMMUNICATION STUDENT FROM ST. XAVIERS INSTITUTE, KOLKATA, IS AN AVID READER AND WRITER. APART FROM WRITING SHE IS ALSO A DOG LOVER AND FAN OF SHERLOCK.