tamil new years day 14 apr 07 - enclaves, IT sevices and slaughter of old trees

Today the paper did not arrive. The main paper did not... that did not stop the supplements.

There was a 4 page pullout announcing, on Tamil new years day, a new housing project - water, promenades, manicured gardens, multi storied apartments and a new concept - offices and apartments nearby, all neat and tidy, school thrown in for children's education, malls for all needs. No need to do more than walk. It could well be titled - "we know you love walking". And we offer you walking to work, to the gym, to the mall, from one air conditioned enclosure to another.
The second 4 page pullout was about a series of new shops selling mobile phones and accessories announcing inauguration on Tamil new years day and discounts. It could well be titled - "we know you love talking". And we offer you talking without walking.
As I went in search of reviving my wife's mobile connection, I saw the city skies, washed clean by the early morning rain. There was some traffic but not too much. So I could drive slowly and watch the roads and the people..
In the middle of the night the phone rang. Trees, 100 yr old trees were being felled. Concerned citizens, including my wife, had spent the afternoon in token protest, hugging the trees, chipko style. The same trees that the media had gathered around in the day were now under the axe in the dead of night. My wife and a few friends dashed off to the site of the unhappy happening. A senior advocate, a senior activist, few lay people discovered half felled trees. They spent ann hour speaking to the policemen, the commissioner, the contractor. The mid night dialogues apparently were very thorough and insightful and would have surely been entertaining had they not been in the presence of the doomed giant trees.

Bystander: Why have you come now? And not when the earlier trees were cut?
Policeman: You are preventing us from going to the relief of the needy. We have to attend here and there is nothing to do.
Activist: Are you saying by protesting we are being anti national?
Policeman: I am not saying you are aninational, but if you ask this question, i will say yes, you are being anti national.
Bystander: Why are you protesting now? You should have protested when all these flats came up. I am ready if you wish to plant bombs in those ugly big flats.
Contractor's supervisor: Look at these people they are blocking development. 6 lane highway will surely benefit the public. Yo are being antisocial.
Corporation official: (on the phone) This is the work of the highways department.
Activist: But this is the job of the corporation and not the highways dept.

This debate must have been frustrating to all concerned. Particularly since it was over a fait accompli.... trees that had been already sawed 50%.

As i drove all these points of view had been in the background. Suddenly on a narrow 3 ft wide pavement i spotted a neat row of young recently planted trees. I said to myself, "Ha, these are how trees should be so they are not axed."
But immediately 50 yards later I saw another neat row of young recently planted trees. These were just off the pavement and were intruding into the road by about 6 inches. "Ha", I said to myself. But this time out popped a question. "Are trees supposed to be this way or that?" I know no one would believe me if I said these things and would think I am making this up for effect. So I took out my poor quality VGA camera attached to the mobile phone and took a few pictures. You can see these pictures and think for yourself!
And as I continued further I saw lots of parked vehicles - 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, trucks, vans - and saw wall beyond these vehicles. And tiny bits of space in between. The pavements looked ragged everywhere - in one place the garbage collecting bins were on the pavement, in another there were vehicles moved off the road to the pavement. In another the rubble of construction was heaped to 4 ft high, preventing passage. And in some places there was hardly any pavement. ^ inches to a 1 ft to 2 feet. And each pavement had the legal minimums - lam posts, electrical transformers or telephone switch boxes. And some non legal as well - little pavement shops, little encroachments by shops and houses.

It seems that we are in a bit of a trouble in Chennai. As a developing global IT hub, millions of sq ft of construction are being encased in glass for IT companies. To attract investments and such companies, since they will bring jobs and revenue to the city, the city is pulling out all stops in its attempt to be hospitable.
But ten million is a large number. Half of ten million is also a large number. I mention this because I hear all numbers between 5 to ten million as population of Chennai and am unable to stake my claim to 7,633,288 or 8,299,712.
With such large numbers the roads are bound to be full unless you live in places where you only walk ... And this has become a problem. In Singapore or in some other city, 6 lane highway access to work cuts travel costs by 15 mins - a big improvement over the 45 mins it used to take people. All gimmickry has been tried - raise the road and build the flyovers, try Mass rapid transport systems, synchronize signals and make one way roads. But all these have not made life "on par" with the systems abroad. So here we are, like the school boy trying for better grades - working hard, struggling, burring the midnight oil (even if it is to cut trees), going to tut ions to World bank certified and sponsored courses - Chennai is trying hard to get better grades from the IT companies and such other establishments. Chennai is trying to prove that quality of infrastructure is no worse than Bangalore or Hyderabad or Baltimore or Athens.

World class infrastructure is surely something that will do all proud - the nation, the state, the city and of course the residents. Th nation marches on to the colours of one party or the other. Sometimes it is very confusing. Who takes credit for the goings on? The centre or the state or the local government? All or none, or a little bit for all. Like Ali Baba, the taxes go to all the parties and all the governments. So all must have a hand, a hand in the common agenda.

And what does this mean - someone has to clear the project, someone has to agree to fund it. And someone else must develop the promised infrastructure. And lastly someone has to do the dirty job - of moving people , giving compensation, coaxing, cajoling people to move for the sake of the city, state country and humanity at large. And someone has to decide what should be kept under wraps and what opened when... what should be leaked to the press. Unfortunately the RTI has come and may prove a bit difficult and embarrassing at times. But such is the optimism riding through the fibre optic cables that we are 'confident' we will get to the promised land of OMR looking like Boston or Los Angeles.

But we must go further.... why must traffic move so fast? What will happen if there are a few slowdowns? And who will lose and who will gain. Why the unseemly hurry? And what is the price...?

World class infrastructure means fast roads, relaible power, fast fibre optic communication and also satellite communication, water of high quality, drainage, and high quality infrastructure will attract companies and this will attract well educated people. Thus there will be a trickle down effect and all will prosper. But the king is dead, long live the king. It is now out of the bag - trickle down effect does not work, it is a trick of human imagination and optimism. All that trickles down is the difficulties and all that rises up is the privileges....

Good roads mean less pavement, if any. The rights of the fast cars, with no voting rights override in high gear the rights of the voting public to walk, a right so basic that no one thinks of putting it on any list. Like the right to breathe. But these are things being assaulted by the infrastructure drive.
You may shop, you must! But you cannot walk to the shop. And You must shop. But cannot get across the road to your vehicle or bus. Jostle, jostle! With few other pathetic fragile humans but more with iron creations of the human mind.

You must walk, it is good for your health. But mind the trenches dug for the optical cables and the rubble, forgotten when the glass was fixed, gleaming and reflecting. Go around it, lest you twist an ankle.

This is a good residential area, but you need to get inside the gated enclaves. There the paths exist for your safe walking. But on the public road, sorry, sorry, we are sorry. You cannot walk unless you are a warrior with nerves of steel and reflexes of a cheetah.
You cannot cross the road, or walk on the pavement, without encountering garbage bins, electrical posts, telephone switch boxes, unauthorized vehicles parked (cars, autos, two wheelers, trucks, vans.. call taxis) .. and all of them have a right above yours. They are there and you have to go around. They dare you to move them. You have rights but what to do? Sorry, we are her headed for the future.. this is a small problem, work in progress. You will be happy when it is all done. We have not YET ironed out these problems.

Work in progress!! Yes, work is in progress, to take all that has been public and redistribute it into private. George Bush does it openly. We do it under cover of socialist slogans. That is all the difference.

Trees have been earmarked silently for being removed in T Nagar, Sardar patel Road and TTK Road. The decision is kept quiet and not released for public information, or discussion. One morning, residents find that some old trees have been cut. Enquiries bring forth vague answers. Next night some more trees go. Then the buck is passed around - corporation, police, highways department who is responsible. Vague again. In the 21st century, while spouting environmental lines our government and its arms expects all citizens to lose shade on the trees from old trees with no murmur, but congratulations!
There are vague rumours that contractors have been found through auction and the trees have been sold to the highest bidder. As a process this is not necessarily bad. But the rumour mill also connects contractors with political figures.
And we lose shade before the summer reaches its peak... here today and there tomorrow. A cat and mouse game begins with citizens who wish to argue and protest. After all our history books, printed by the same government laud kings who planted trees and built roads. Now wonder the secrecy of the night is needed! How can the rulers today say they are building roads and hacking old trees? This would be bad history. It has to be done in the dead of night. It has to be done against the wisdom of citizens, secretly. And it has to be done against the tide of history. A concealed hand, forbidding and threatening, intimidating any opposition seems to be operating, behind the scenes.

One last point... world class infrastructure surely needs to offer speedy transport facilities, but must include safe walking spaces and cycling spaces. These are very much part of the world class we aim for. And considering that we have large populations, we cannot alienate a large percentage, in the hope of trickle down effect, with enticing roads and no walkways or cycle tracks. I wish the IT companies that wield so much influence would insist on these as well in addition to the optical fibre lines, and roads. The fast lanes need the slow service lanes. The high speeds need the slow frequencies. The falcon and the snail have their needs and they must coexist. Much like the early settlers in America focussed on the headlong rush to the West, we are headed for IT corridors and enclaves. If this is not to lead to ghettoing of the nation, pedestrians and cyclists need to be given their due and more as citizens of a modern nation. Modernity cities not brook enclaves for long.... and we must not give up the ghost of equitable opportunity and dignity for all citizens, neither the sovereign opportunity to be heard and participate.