~The
journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step~
Most of us today will see petroleum and
other conventional energy sources run dry within our lifetime. By the end of
the next couple of decades, our current way of life will come to an abrupt end.
Our children will see diesel automobiles only as exhibits. We will then have no
option but to revert to employing our physical faculties like our not so
distant forefathers.
However, there are changes that we can
make in our life style now so that we can keep at bay this dire scenario
indefinitely .The conscious steps that we take now will also help us prepare
for this eventuality so that when it does come, its impact would not be as
disorienting and debilitating as it will otherwise be.
The pedestrian Day initiative is of
noble intent and eons hence, we will have reasons to be proud of the choice
that we have made now. The little sacrifices that we make, the inconveniences
that we take in our stride now and the bluff that we call our detractors will
all become matters to celebrate in the near future. In the short run, this
initiative will help us offset the great trade imbalances and their
accompanying economic woes that we are just waking upto now. We have the
tendency to blindly chase after material indulgences and this decision is a
small reality check. Our tiny economy cannot afford the endless import of
vehicles and the great measures of fuel to keep them running.
The most beneficial effect of this move
though is likely the awareness it will create. After our thoughtless existence
thus far, we have come to accept a car as a modern day necessity. Being able to
walk down the street of our capital with our office stationeries and groceries
for home have made us realize how mistaken we were. We realize that we can
actually walk the whole distance of Thimphu city, and with much greater joy and
relish. Having lived with this policy change for a couple of weeks, we realize
that personal cars aren’t so indispensible after all.
It is refreshing to see our colleagues,
seniors and the other who’s who of our society walk the same path. We realize
that walking is such a great leveler. It is a chance for our society to come
together and understand each other’s situation being at the same level once
more. We realize that we have lost so much of our human touch by driving in our
shielded SUVs (or utility Nanos, for that matter) without so much as getting a
glimpse of each other. We also realize that walking doesn’t make you smaller,
especially when everybody else is walking too. It took a policy shock to make
us realize this, but it is better late than never.
By default, this initiative has also
given the chance for us to seriously consider developing our public transport
system which we stress so much but seldom bother investing in. We realize now
that if we had an efficient public transport system, we need not drive our cars
on all our small errands. All we need then is a city bus to carry us around in
comfort and with efficiency. At the same time, if it is about walking, then
there are so much we can do to make our cities pedestrian friendly, not just in
spirit but in terms of the physical infrastructures too. All the savings and
goodwill support that we will no doubt gain from this gesture will help us do
just that.
There will be detractors no doubt.
Changes will take time to sink in and be accepted. There will be vested
interest arguing for shelving this initiative like all other good thoughts. The
move will also be misappropriated at all levels. This move can give an ideal
excuse for the less honest to report late on work. Commercial drivers will look
to take advantage of hapless passengers .Traffic officials might get fatigued
from listening to the endless streams of complaints. Municipal workers and
elected members might come under fire from their constituencies. The residents
themselves might feel hard pressed under a sense of state domination. No doubt
our state at times can be overbearing to the point of snubbing public right on
frivolous counts. But this time around, this is not such a move.
We can just hope that we have the
strength to bear it all and carry through what we all know is a noble
initiative. If so, in a few years’ time, Pedestrian Day will become a norm
rather than an exception, and we will be able to walk through the length and
breadth of our city everyday of the week. By then, we will not only have the
determination, but also the system in place to facilitate this choice. Our
planet and future generation will thank us for our sensitivity, kindness and
most importantly, our resolve in a world of spineless masses.
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