About 2 months back, when the ever-smiling CEO of GE came calling to India, Jeffrey Immelt gave an interview on NDTV. He heads one of the largest US multinationals, which has its fingers in almost every business pie one can conceive of, and so justifiably his account on doing business in India was worth listening to.
GE is hopeful of substantially furthering its business in India, similar to what it is already doing in China, and Immelt is quick to point out that among other things while India is rich in human resource, it sorely lacks world-class infrastructure that can lure western money-baggers to invest. He points out that the roads and ports in India must improve so that materials of all types can move faster from place to place and from India to other countries.
We all know that after second world war, America’s ravaged economy got a robust start after huge investments flowed into improving the rail and road connections. So much so that retail giants like WalMart wouldn’t mind setting up their mammoth selling points at the outskirts of big cities because people won’t mind traveling extra distance to buy their purchases because the roads appeared too enticing to cruise their vehicles on. In fact, some economists say that the smooth-as-silk road network in US post-WW2 is the primary reason behind the great car boom, and indeed the country’s economy.
This is in Oakland, US. How much will it be in Kolkata? (Picture source)
Cut it to Kolkata, a city of millions that promises to usher in a new era of industrial revolution. The less said about its roads, the better. The city has very few new roads in several decades, and even the old roads lack maintenance at many places. It is said that the people responsible for the upkeep of the roads eagerly await the onslaught of monsoon, because it is then that patchworks can be done in quick successions with the guarantee that the last one will be washed out pretty soon.
A common ailment among many of us is a refusal to rise above petty interests even if they harm larger sections of society. Nowhere is this more evident than the propensity to keep alive the poor conditions of Kolkata roads. Can we ever imagine having dream roads like the ones below?
Good road, better commuting, rider’s dream, world class.
Picture source: top, bottom
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