Bengaluru: The reason behind techie's horse-ride to work needs attention
Chances are you may have seen the viral photograph of a software engineer in Bengaluru riding to office on a horse. The photo, from his last day at work, prompted funny reactions on social media but the reason just highlights the authorities' failure to address Bengaluru's traffic woes. Roopesh Kumar Verma said he learnt horse-riding because of 'traffic headache'.
Traffic troubles forced Roopesh Verma to learn horse riding
Verma, who hails from Rajasthan, has been living in Bengaluru for the last eight years. To reach his office in Embassy Golf Links campus on Intermediate Ring Road, Verma learnt horse riding last month, he told. "This city is overcrowded, and too many vehicles on its roads lead to traffic jams every day. I learnt horse riding because of the traffic headache," he said.
Bengaluru's traffic problem is crippling the city
The residents of software capital of India, Bengaluru, spend most of their time stuck in traffic jams. Ahead of Karnataka assembly elections this year, former CM Siddaramaiah boasted of how his government built 36 km metro in 5 years. But that seems to have made minimal difference to the woes. The absence of an efficient public transport system isthe primary reason behind these jams.
While vehicle population kept increasing, roads weren't built
A 2017 ET report suggested for a population of over one crore, Bengaluru's vehicle population was 67.22 lakh. The further classifications is- 46.54 lakh two-wheelers (70%), 13.01 lakh cars (19%), 1.35 lakh taxis and 1.71 lakh autorickshaws. From 1964 to 2018, the city's vehicle population rose by 6,099% but the road length increased by just 1,254%. These figures hint towards authority's laxity.
Apart from traffic, Verma thinks software industry is doomed
Taking numbers into account, no one can really blame Verma for taking a horse to work. Not only traffic, Verma also had concerns about India's software industry and is 'done with it'. He said the software engineers in MNCs are overworked. "Those who ride auto-rickshaws and trucks have their own union to raise their voice but software engineers have no organizations," he quipped.
