NO GANDHIGIRI IN THIS JAM
Gujarat Vidyapith employee holds up state transport bus for an hour after latter halts at varsity gate, blocking entry, again
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, June 04, 2013 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2013060420130604023550981dcc9bd65/NO-GANDHIGIRI-IN-THIS-JAM.html
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, June 04, 2013 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2013060420130604023550981dcc9bd65/NO-GANDHIGIRI-IN-THIS-JAM.html
An employee of the Mahatma Gandhi-founded Gujarat Vidyapith, known for its adherence to Gandhi’s principles of non-violence and peace, gave in to his decidedly un- Gandhian side on Sunday night after yet another bus driver got on his wrong side. Pradeep Sarvaiyya was trying to enter the university around 8.30 pm when he found a state transport (ST) bus parked right outside the gate. Forced to make a wide turn mid-traffic, Sarvaiyya stopped his car right in front of the bus and refused to move for the next hour.
He refused to move his vehicle even as passengers on the Palanpur-bound bus got off, and chose alternate forms of travel. ST buses regularly stop at the university’s gate, despite the presence of a proper bus stand about half a kilometre away — an issue that has plagued students, employees and visitors for the past seven to eight years. Sarvaiyya says he simply ran out of patience. “We deal with this on a daily basis.
Students, employees, parents and all visitors are harassed in this way. We often have to park outside, on the road, since the entryway was blocked by a bus and passengers rushing to get in. Regular passengers also know that buses stop right outside the gate, so they also gather there. It’s not like we don’t have a bus stand, so why can’t drivers learn to use them?” He also tells of a recent incident in which a 108 ambulance had to find an alternate gate to exit the premises, because the main entrance was blocked by a bus, and the ensuing traffic jam.
While it is unclear if varsity Vice- Chancellor Sudarshan Iyengar would approve of Sarvaiyya’s tactics, he does admit that Gandhian tactics have repeatedly failed to bring any change in the situation. “We’ve had this problem since I started my term in 2005. Drivers stop at the gate, instead of driving to the bus stand. Not only does this cause traffic jams, but students and employees face trouble even entering and exiting the university. We have tried a number of solutions, but to no avail.
We’ve written to various officials of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) as well as the police; our students have also protested peacefully — holding sit-ins at the stop, asking drivers and passengers to wait at the actual bus stand, and trying to manage traffic by themselves — but nothing has come of it. If private share-autos and jeeps can make proper use of the bus stand, there is no reason for bus drivers not to,” he said. He lays the blame with both the GSRTC and the traffic police. “While a lion’s share of the blame belongs to the state transport corporation, the traffic police should also pay attention to what’s happening,” he said. However, GSRTC claims ignorance.
R B Shah, GSRTC’s traffic manager, said, “I’ve held this post for three years now, and have not received any formal complaints from Gujarat Vidyapeeth regarding any buses. How can we do anything if we don’t even know that there is such a problem?”
He refused to move his vehicle even as passengers on the Palanpur-bound bus got off, and chose alternate forms of travel. ST buses regularly stop at the university’s gate, despite the presence of a proper bus stand about half a kilometre away — an issue that has plagued students, employees and visitors for the past seven to eight years. Sarvaiyya says he simply ran out of patience. “We deal with this on a daily basis.
Students, employees, parents and all visitors are harassed in this way. We often have to park outside, on the road, since the entryway was blocked by a bus and passengers rushing to get in. Regular passengers also know that buses stop right outside the gate, so they also gather there. It’s not like we don’t have a bus stand, so why can’t drivers learn to use them?” He also tells of a recent incident in which a 108 ambulance had to find an alternate gate to exit the premises, because the main entrance was blocked by a bus, and the ensuing traffic jam.
While it is unclear if varsity Vice- Chancellor Sudarshan Iyengar would approve of Sarvaiyya’s tactics, he does admit that Gandhian tactics have repeatedly failed to bring any change in the situation. “We’ve had this problem since I started my term in 2005. Drivers stop at the gate, instead of driving to the bus stand. Not only does this cause traffic jams, but students and employees face trouble even entering and exiting the university. We have tried a number of solutions, but to no avail.
We’ve written to various officials of the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) as well as the police; our students have also protested peacefully — holding sit-ins at the stop, asking drivers and passengers to wait at the actual bus stand, and trying to manage traffic by themselves — but nothing has come of it. If private share-autos and jeeps can make proper use of the bus stand, there is no reason for bus drivers not to,” he said. He lays the blame with both the GSRTC and the traffic police. “While a lion’s share of the blame belongs to the state transport corporation, the traffic police should also pay attention to what’s happening,” he said. However, GSRTC claims ignorance.
R B Shah, GSRTC’s traffic manager, said, “I’ve held this post for three years now, and have not received any formal complaints from Gujarat Vidyapeeth regarding any buses. How can we do anything if we don’t even know that there is such a problem?”
