--
“You can't
understand a city without meeting its people who lives on its streets.”
―
“The city, however,
does not tell its past, but its roads are like the lines of a hand, telling all
about past, present & future about it”
―
Writer, scientist,
thinker, futurist, and salsa dancer living in Raleigh, North Carolina (USA);
Italo too was an Italian writer and journalist, his best-known works include
the Our Ancestors trilogy & though both lives thousands of miles away &
in different era yet the similarity between them is, their definition about a
city! That is the reason I choose their words to start my sharing in the form
of an open letter to none other than “future Bapp” (read as boss) rather
proposed Baap is right word as in Marathi we call “Bhavi” which if rightly
translated then can be called as “probable” as “future’ means certain which
isn’t the case here! I am sure you must be confused (read as agitated or
irritated) with the absurd start but it’s about our Greatest Indian Politician
(just like Magician) Show i.e. Lok Sabha election & choosing MP i.e.
Khasdar of our city, that’s why probable as we don’t know who that guy will be!
Well, no gender biasness but two main candidates are Gents & till now no
lady candidate has filed her nomination, so the “guy” word to refer the
probable MP of Pune!
Ok,
now the stage is set, for the election as well for my sharing then most readers
will think that they know what this letter will be saying or what’s use of such
time pass (it is in a way) as first which candidate is going to read it &
even if he reads, yet am I a fool (any doubts?) that it will make any
difference and things like that! Well, I agree with your points but first this
is where the democracy aspect of election comes in picture & in case if
none of the candidates read this sharing is ok but you people are reading it
right & if you think you also won’t do any difference then you can stop
reading right now, rather don’t read anything, just watch weird reels on Insta,
that’s what you are made for! Sorry for sarcasm but it comes with the tag of Punekar,
just the way an urge to write this sharing to our Bhavi MP is! That way Pune
has taken lead in compare to many other sensitive or say sensational election
centres in the country as already both the major contending parties have
announced their candidates already when the election day is nearly two months
away, a rare thing! And this if on one side is a challenge for the contestants
as to keep the tempo of voting up for such long period is a tough task (for
pocket also, sarcasm) then on the other side it has given them an opportunity
to reach as many voters & understand what they want (read as expect) &
here is where quotes from Erol & Italo came handy for me as this is what my
letter is about!
I
myself, now can be considered as a citizen of Pune (though the Nagpur roots
will never be cut fully) as I studied here, got job here & now running business
i.e. earning bread & butter here & in the process get to learn a few
things about the city as my profession deals with city building while my academia
is about environment! So, here we go…
Dear Bhavi Khasadar of Pune,
While
we wish you best for the election, here are some points (you can read as tips)
which you can keep in mind in your campaign…
First
of all, if you are expecting I will be listing problems of the city, then you
are wrong because I know you both are more hardcore Punekars than me & you definitely
know her (city’s) problems, that’s why first I am sharing plus-points of the
city! Best
part of Pune is, culture of this city which is backbone of the society, as take
example of Ganpati Utsav, where else in the country millions of people coming
together on the streets for whole night & celebrate the festival & who
can forget events like Savaii Gandharva, Firodia, Purushottam (please google
about these, if you don’t know what these names are) & many such which
provides stage to thousands of artists to perform their art & skills! So please see that
this culture named backbone gets strengthened in your tenure as then the city
will also grow in harmony of culture. And after culture the strong point of the
city is education, with lakhs of students coming in this city for becoming a
better human being by having education here, along with the culture the city
offers to them. But of-late both these strong aspects of city are getting deteriorated
fast, as now celebration means loud music, walls of speakers & drunk
dancing with rallies of motorbikes with silencers making deafening sounds
making celebration is nuisance to entire society. And if entire education
system is in clutches of latest threat of drugs, then increasing numbers of
minors (students) in crime is also an alarm for the education front of the
city, this is where you will have to work most. Then comes environment or
say weather of the city, this is the city which just a few decades back didn’t
know summer & a century back when British ruled us, the very city is known
as “No Fan City,” means weather was so pleasant that no artificial ventilation
was required & look what we have done to this city!
One more plus point of Pune is, the opportunities it offers
to every person may he or she be from any class of age group & this is the
main reason the city is one of the most peaceful in compare to other cities of
its size in the country. As when majority of people are involved in building their
respective careers (by legal ways, of course) then only there is peace in the
society, is the side effect (good) of the work culture! With lakhs of migrants
coming to the city every year for education as well for job, its like
industries, services, companies are coming here because man-power is available
here & Vise-versa, making Pune city for entire Central India, what USA is
for developing or underdeveloped countries! And this is the reason why Pune is
prospering continuously as like a chain reaction this process is going on now
for decades & as a boss of the city all you have to do is just keep this
chain reaction on! Last but not least is public health at large, an aspect
which nobody ever cared or bothered till Covid hit us & suddenly now
everybody is worried about health & health care facilities which Pune has
best in comparison to many towns in the country & this is one more reason people
want to settle here as they feel the city can provide them good health care
centre when needed. So, as Bhavi Mai-Baap of the city, do keep an eye for
making this public health named arm of the city stronger as it has benefitted
to the city’s growth a lot! And yes, one more most important aspect is crime
rate of the city, which on the face may seem a lot (it is, but in different
form) but considering population & size of the city its actually less! Yet
it will be a challenge for you to keep this city safe on crime front as wealth
usually attracts crime & if you will make this city wealthy then keeping
away the criminals will need special measures especially for rapidly increasing
cyber-crimes!
Just
the way in any examination we have been taught to complete the easy questions
or our well-prepared portion’s questions first & then give time to the
harder ones, now comes the hard part of the city, lol! And as I said needless
to say, you know it better than me about all the hard-hitting aspects of the
city which starts from traffic & ends at traffic only, because many issues
are directly related to the traffic problem of Pune. The time wasted in
traffic is main reason of frustration & reflects in increasing numbers of
road rage cases (crimes) at the same time millions of vehicle’s exhausts chokes
breath of the citizens & the Carbon Monoxide emission increases temperature
of the entire city making it “AC Must City” from “No Fan City”! The only solution is
not just the public transport but making it as lifestyle of the citizens, that
is the harder part as you may build Metro but who will teach the citizens to
walk a bit to reach to that Metro, is the problem! Apart from poor
public transport, the way Karna in
Mahabharat has “Kavach Kundal” as part of his body, Punekars considers their
two-wheeler or four-wheeler as inseparable part of their body, making entire
city a parking lot & a racing track at a time, is the real problem! And for
that apart from awareness strict policing from traffic management view, is
equally important!
Three
issues I won’t need to comment & they are, water, drainage & garbage as
no rocket science is needed to manage them, just a strong will, is what we
expect from you! One more aspect is, constantly reducing green cover of the
city but its solution is not only in tree policy & planting new trees but
in making right housing policy which will accommodate trees & people &
understanding need of the housing! The city is growing on population front
& this population needs homes & lots of them, & the way we will be
building these homes will only decide fate of the city! Bhavi Khasadar Sir,
this is the weakest link of the city & that’s why I kept it for last as its
hardest & your voters first basic need is not Roti or Kapada as they can
manage it on their own but Makan is their main problem! Hardly twenty
percent of the population has their own legal home here & millions of
people either surrender to urge of buying an illegal home or live in slums on
rent, is a fact & if you think I am exagereting then conduct your own
survey & check! And only when the end user citizen of the city i.e. a
driver, a house maid, a deliver boy, a peon & many such will be able to buy
a home of their own in this city then they will be at peace & many problems
the city is facing right now will be solved in the process; high time for you
to know this very basic fact about the city & its people is what I thought,
so bothered!
Lastly for the citizens of Pune (read as the Voters), I know
many of so-called learned people (there are many in this city do hate politics
& the politicians & thinks nothing will change by election & all
are same blah blah but seriously nothing will change if you don’t vote is the
fact! There is NOTA (None of the above) option i.e. not choosing to vote to any
candidate, which many people proudly say they opted for it but on personal note
I am not for this option! Your vote does maters, if not for you then for your
city it does matters rather by not opting to vote of using NOTA you are running
away from making the choice, however bad options there may be, yet there always
is better of all the options, go for it! Punekars, city’s fate you will be
putting in the hands of one person, so choose wisely & just casting your
vote doesn’t end your duty towards the city, rather it’s a start, mind it;
happy voting, adios with this note!
-
Sanjay
Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
Please view my sharing about finding a Right
Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...
https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345
Please do visit my blog links
below to read about real estate & home buying!
https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/01/choosing-your-home-along-with-future-of.html
http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.html
Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345
For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below
www.punecorporation.org
Take your issues to Hon PM at link below...
Think Green, Think Life
www.sanjeevanideve.com
/ https://junglebelles.in/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave ur name, email id along with ur comment. It will help me to reply ur comment as well improve the blog as per ur suggestions if any... :)
Sanjay