….yes, a road was widened!
The municipality came. Police arrived, shopkeepers protested.
But the road was widened!
Demolishers came. Workmen with shovels arrived. Labourers with spades worked night and day.
And the road was widened!
Excavators arrived. Sand trucks appeared. Tar machines tarred, and tarred night and day!
And the people rejoiced.
Motorists dreamt of seamless driving, pedestrians of uninterrupted walking and residents of less honking!
And the road was widened,.... for one full night!
The municipality left. The police left, and the shopkeepers went back to their shops which now were given an extra floor on top!
The demolishers left, and workmen with shovels put back their tools along with labourers their spades.
The excavators rumbled away overtaking the slow road rollers and leaving the tar machines far behind!
And the road was widened.
That night motorists again dreamt of seamless travel, the pedestrians of manholeless pavements and residents of peaceful honk-less sleep!
And the rod was widened, yes for one full night, as the last of the policemen left, the road lay widened.
But somewhere in the night, the local corporator came, the MLA arrived and in the silence of darkness, it was rumoured the MP also paid a visit.
And with their sanction..
the hawkers arrived and spread their wares on the widened road, motorbikes were parked, a car and motorbike garage started operating and vegetable vendors who it was rumoured were the corporators brother’s friends, and the MLA and MPs relatives and friends and even hush, but I have to tell you, business associates started selling pajamas and winter wear, also summer wear and even opened a shoe shop, all on the road which was widened.
The road was widened, but the next day, motorists found the same traffic jams, motor cyclists started climbing their merciless machines on the pavement and residents went down to buy pain killers as their headaches with all the loud honking and vendors cries, and mechanics revving their repaired motorcycles got even worse than ever before!
but..
In the record books of the municipality, it was carefully written in neat long hand that a road was widened, and in the House when all the elected representatives of the corporation and state sat in ponderous thought deliberating what new name to give to chowk, and station, street and gutter, there was suddenly thunderous applause as all of them heard that a road was widened..!
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and author. He blogs at www.bobsbanter.com and can be reached at bobsbanter@gmail.com
