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Spaces of despair

Habibul Haque Khondker
***What are the causes of the paralysing traffic situation in Dhaka? The problems are inadequate infrastructure — there are not enough roads and flyovers, too many rickshaws and pushcarts, inadequate number of public transportation, insufficient enforcement, and non-observance, of traffic rules. The roads are arenas of indiscipline; they are also spaces of despair.***
IT is hard not to be pessimistic about Bangladesh. Every now and then when a ray of sunshine tries to wash away the gloom, a patch of dark cloud appears on the horizon in no time. 1/11 brought a swath of sunshine; expectations were raised, and roadmaps were chalked out
Following the spate of bail given to the likes of people who, in the eyes of many, belong in jail and, worse, election of some local leaders with dubious reputations in the recently concluded local body elections, some sections of the people are beginning to doubt the usefulness of democracy.
However, rather than holding on to the weather metaphor and feeling helpless in the face of vagaries of nature, it is time to persist on the roadmap to honesty and functionality. Pre 1/11 Bangladesh reached a new low of dysfunctionality, with a number of vital institutions of the government on the brink of collapse and degeneration.
The post-1/11 regime mounted a heroic effort at house-cleaning and charted a roadmap, part of
which was to hold credible elections on a sensible schedule. It is very likely that the roadmap of elections will be realised. The other roadmap -- somewhat vague yet more important in the minds of the silent majority - a new political beginning, a politics of truth, fair play and justice may remain unrealisable.
In this sense, the metaphor of roads and the unbearablity of traffic jams provide an appropriate analogy. Does the paralysing traffic mirror the paralysis in politics which defeats attempted reforms?
Let's start with reforms that will bring smooth flow of traffic, something many believe is unrealisable. What are the causes of the paralysing traffic situation in Dhaka? The problems are inadequate infrastructure -- there are not enough roads and flyovers, too many rickshaws and pushcarts, inadequate number of public transportation, insufficient enforcement, and non-observance, of traffic rules. The roads are arenas of indiscipline; they are also spaces of despair.
The various users of the spaces of the roads view them differently. For hawkers and beggars on traffic intersections, and for some
unscrupulous law enforcers, roads are spaces of work; this is where they eke out a living.
While some go to work by means of road others hit the roads for work. Hawkers work on the roads, as do muggers. For the rickshaw pullers and push-cart men roads are parking spaces for their means of livelihood.
Are the crises on the road expressions of deeper crises in the politico-economy? The landless peasants and the unemployed of all sorts flock to the cities where rickshaw pulling becomes a readily available job.
The rickshaw industry could be one of the largest employers of labour in Dhaka. One of the key problems of traffic is the absence of clear rules, and very poor enforcement. A hard decision must be made on the presence of rickshaws.
If they are accepted as legitimate means of transportation they must come under the rules of traffic, the vehicles must be outfitted with headlights, the rickshaw pullers must be properly trained, they must be aware of the traffic rules, and bus and truck drivers must be subjected to all the traffic rules without exemption.
Buses must stop only at the designated stops and not in the middle of the road. A large number of buses on Dhaka roads have no tail lights nor any rear-view mirrors. Their “helpers,” bang on the rickety buses to threaten the other vehicles and alert the driver as far as the left side of the traffic is concerned; the right side remains a permanent blind spot. Your safety lies in your luck and little else.
The buses look pathetic, relics
from the past with broken windows and windshields (howtheymanage to avoid traffic police is a mystery). A letter writer to a Bengali daily complained that as his sick son was being wetted by rain in a windowless bus, the conductor asked him to get off the bus if he did not like it!
There are hardly any overhead bridges along the long airport road. How can people cross the road, except by raising their hands and risking their lives? Despite the
presence of overhead bridges in certain areas, many pedestrians take the easy way of crossing the road by raising their hands (as if they had magical powers) to stop the oncoming vehicles, and most drivers do comply.
There is solidarity in not following the rules, a sense of benign acceptance of such non-compliance of laws. Tolerance is the norm here. Law enforcement, on the contrary, often goes with zero-tolerance.
Most of the roads in Dhaka are unmarked; in the few places where there are lines and markers, the drivers often fail to take notice of such distractions. Road markings, like laws of the country, cannot be ignored and followed as one pleases.
For one who visits Dhaka at regular intervals the lack of discipline and the total disregard for road safety provide a window to the understanding of governance issues on Bangladesh. If laws are clearly stated and announced, and people are made aware of the laws and the punishment for failing to obey the laws, the traffic problem would be eased. It will also send a message loud and clear that laws are not optional.
In short, what Bangladesh needs to do in order to turn the spaces of despair into spaces of hope is mass education of the laws that people need to know, and the enforcement of those laws without exceptions, or favours.
Habibul Haquo Kaondker Is Protosssof, Zayed University. Abu Dhabi.