Make stepping out in India safer

One worries about kanwariyas these days as much as those encumbered by their lack of maintaining civic norms. Latest reports of accidents and fatalities after being hit by trucks and by electrocution underscore the perils of stepping out in urban India for all. Kanwariyas fall on both sides of the equation – flouting norms that imperil safety for themselves and others, as well as at the receiving end of others flouting traffic norms. Drawing up rules that make travel safe in the Indian outdoors for all classes of users and ensuring implementation without fear or favour is essential to reduce accidents and fatalities in our cities and towns. Additional safeguards for seasonal events like kanwar yatra should be in place and implemented to ensure safety of these walking pilgrims and other street and road users.

Road safety must be in place for all, with rules framed keeping the safety of most vulnerable users like pedestrians and cyclists in mind. This means wider, more stringent policing, and jettisoning the ‘We are like this only’ reasoning that romanticises ‘India’s chaos’ and makes our unsafe outdoors seem the most natural thing in the world. Rules are important, as is infrastructure. Civic authorities must ensure user-friendly, encroachment-free pavements for pedestrians – and crack down on two-wheelers hijacking footpaths. Special provisions for kanwariyas will be particularly important for highway travel. Road users must also adhere to norms such as the number of riders on each class of vehicle. Rules matter. But compliance matters more.

As for the annual pilgrimage by devotees of Shiva, it should become a seasonal spot check for safety of Indian roads and pavements. And of traffic police’s ability to ensure compliance.