Open letter to department of roads(?), Pune City.

I had written this as a status message on Facebook a while back. Was irritated then with the road conditions- so this was a vent. Somehow, yesterday was vexed with the road conditions again. (This time at Hinjawadi Phase 1) A newly laid pipeline burst in exact 3 days, and a newly laid road has been converted to a brook, with its top surface washed off. This shows the shoddy work thats being done. The contractors should be held accountable for this mess. Anyway, the scenario reminded me of this particular "open letter" i had written, and its worth sharing again. (This time with Pics!) 

That said, I do hope the new government takes some action against all this bullshit contractors.

________________________________________________________________                                                                                                                                     30 June 2014.

To,
PWD Officer,

Pune Municipal Corporation

(If it should be called that- Municipalty is probably better).

Sir,

It rained heavily yesterday. Probably for the first time this monsoon season. And the "fruits" of your brilliant planning and execution of the world class quality of the maintenance of Pune roads became all evident. For cross country motorcycle enthusiasts, such as myself, it was a dream come true. We are fundamentally against the very concept of level roads with proper dividers and lanes. You provide this basic need free of costs. How much I thank you and probably your mother and sister every single time I ride over a bump or a pothole, you wont know and probably wont understand. 

The rains are an added bonus to us motorcyclists, giving us new "levels" to complete the game Motocross Madness Pune. How beautifully the rains have dislodged loose gravel from newly patch-worked roads. How quickly it created a new circuit full of not just potholes, but what can be called as gorges, caves, sinkholes and everything else. 

I salute you for your awareness to fit manholes atleast 6-8 inches below the road level and create a superb obstacle course. That combined with the existing potholes, diggings, gravel, sand and what not is a paradise for us citizens. I was truly impressed by your new patch of the circuit- on Senapati Bapat Road near Dominos Pizza. Its a miracle that you and your team managed to sink an entire lane atleast 4 inches below the usual road level and give us a reason to be excessively excited! I also salute you for one of the most difficult patches that you have created- Near Chandani Chauk Petrol pump, where you had a gravel pit immediately after a speed breaker. Let me tell you- it was one of the toughest patch on the motocross course. Unfortunately, the gravel there seems to have been washed away, and I urge you to create a new pit as soon as possible.

Other than these improved cross country practice tracks, I also take off my hat to your brilliant drainage system, which transforms boring smooth roads into fast flowing streams 1-2 feet deep. It gives a sensational feeling of riding the bike on the everglades of Florida. I sincerely appreciate your efforts to bring Florida to Pune and thus give a glimpse of the west to us citizens- and that too free of cost. 

However, water filled roads dont excite us as much as a potholed filled water logged bylanes in the old city. Oh god, these are wonderful to drive on! The sheer volume of grit, mud, dust, spit and feces that mix with the water and gets splashed everywhere when we ride through a pothole is a joy to behold. I would like to especially congratulate you for creation of these temporary oasis on the otherwise dull and boring roads of Pune.

The Pashan- Bavdhan- Chandani Chowk road, sir, is usually filled with mudslides, pebbles, rubble, stones, trees and branches washed down from the extremely lawfully constructed buildings. This year, we have been denied the opportunity to skid ride through that patch. I hope you look into that matter. 

Also, I sincerely urge you to instruct all PMT bus drivers to stop their buses in the 2nd lane on extremely busy roads and provide us with "Instantaneous hard braking" practice.

Sir, you are a direct beneficiary of the tax payers money as your wages are drawn from the taxes collected from us. The excellent quality of the motocross tracks that you give us, year in year out, every year without fail, just speaks volumes of your love for us, and shows a sense of appreciation for what we Punekars really like and enjoy. I sincerely thank you for providing us with world class motocross facilities to make our monsoon all the more enjoyable.

I wish you heartiest congratulations on probably putting Pune as a hot destination for the sport of street motocross. (If an event such as this does not already exist, I urge you to start one, as it will greatly boost the tourist industry of our city.) I cant really thank you enough for making our lives so imaginative and computer game like. 

Regards,

Chinmay.

A citizen of the city of Pune.

P.S.- Sir, your decision to make key traffic lights at Nal Stop, Paud Phata, Tilak Road Hatti Ganapati Chowk non functional during peak traffic hours was a masterstroke! I doff my hat to you for that! 

Regards.

C.