Hyderabad Traffic - Your chance to improve it!!

Traffic, ISB and more

2010-03-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

I have been admitted to the prestigious 1 year Post Graduate Program in Management at the Indian School of Business that starts in April 2010. It was a dream come true for me. I had applied in 2007 but was not even called for the interview. ISB had always been on my radar ever since it started its operations in Hyderabad, so I was disappointed at not making it in 2007. However, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as in Oct 2007, I moved into a Solutions Architect role in the APAC region and learnt about Sales, presales, marketing, solution selling, engaging with CXOs, etc. Now I have a better understanding of the business of IT.

One of my goals at ISB would be to see how my time there can be used towards a more structured approach at solving traffic problems on Indian roads. I have already reached out to my classmates about doing something for traffic improvement in India and found that there are traffic engineers that have worked on real time traffic flow issues in the US that are part of the ISB class of 2011. This is good as we can use their inputs to come up with (and implement) solutions.

I will also be working with the Right 2 Walk Foundation to make our roads safer for pedestrians. We are doing a membership drive for Right 2 Walk Foundation and I have already signed up about 10 members. If you are interested in joining the foundation, do leave a comment or send me an email and I will follow up with you.

Here's hoping that my time at ISB will help me in some way for traffic improvement in India.

Latest tourist attraction at Hitech City - the Lake

2009-08-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Did you see it? Did you swim in it? If it rains for another day, we'll have to swim through it to get to our offices in Mindspace. This part of the road gets flooded after every shower, so I wonder why the administration has not done anything about it.

When I saw the traffic jam in the morning just before taking the u-turn opposite Cyber Gateway (to come to Mindspace), I decided against taking this route and instead went back to Whitefields, drove to Gachibowli and used new link road to approach Mindspace. The traffic jam was massive. I took the other gate into Mindspace and even that road (to Durgam Cheruvu) was water logged. I entered into Mindspace, drove to the main gate and parked my car there to see if I could help ease the jam. This is what I saw (Pic sent in by my colleague, Mehul. Click on it to enlarge the pic!)

There was nothing I could do but watch! If it rains heavily again, see if you can avoid this road. Meanwhile, happy fishing!

The cab story: The Ending!

2009-08-19T05:02:00.000-07:00

So how do you think it turned out finally? Do you think there were punches, kicks, exchange of money, etc? Well here's how it turned out(there's a twist):

I had been badgering the cabbie to pay me the money and I kept calling him and the owner to follow up.
The cabbie was supposed to meet me on Monday night and pay me Rs. 500, but because of the downpour that night and because his daughter was not well, I told him to meet me today (Wednesday). I told him to call me before 9am and meet me by 11am. I was more interested in seeing if he will actually call me. He did call at 930am and say that he will meet around 1130. He finally came in at 130pm, but did keep me informed of his delays.
I met him outside Mindspace, right where the accident took place. I asked him to sit in my car and we drove ahead to the side of the road, parked and got out. I greeted him with a smile and made small talk with him. I told him that I was happy that he came to meet me and we spoke about how the accident took place.

I then asked him to give me the money . He said he only had Rs. 240 out of which he could give me Rs. 200. The agreement was for Rs. 500, so I told him that he will still need to pay me the rest. After some deliberation, I made him agree to pay me the rest over a 2 month period . He promised and said that he'd pay whenever he gets the chance.

The twist:
Once I had the Rs. 200 with me and his promise to pay the rest over the next 2 months, I gave him his money back. My main aim was to make sure that because of this accident, this cabbie realizes that he needs to take safe driving seriously. I told him that I had been giving him a hard time on purpose so that he is more careful on the road next time, lest he ends up dealing with someone like me again. The cabbie got emotional and started crying saying that he never expected me to be like this. He said that this "twist in the climax" was unexpected. He had a completely different view about me. I said that I wanted to make sure that he pay an amount which would pinch him and make him realize that he cannot get away with rash driving. He insisted that I keep the money, but I declined saying that I got what I had wanted . He felt happy and promised that he'd be careful about driving from now on.

We then spoke about his future plans. He hopes to buy his own taxi and run it as a radio taxi. If I had filed a police complaint, this cabbie may not have been able to do this, since the taxi companies check the police records(ask for a certificate from the police). He is financially weak and is the only earning member in a family of 10. I offered to use his taxi service whenever possible and also told him that if he needs any other help, I'd see if I can do something.

So that's how this ended. Hopefully, through all this, I may have reduced one reckless driver on our roads. I still have an ugly bumper, but you can't have your cake and eat it too, right?

The cab story: continued!

2009-08-16T20:44:00.001-07:00

It was a dark stormy night. Strange bat like creatures flying around....

Sorry, I just thought I'll make it a little more dramatic! :)

So here's the update:
I called the cab company - not once, not twice but about 5-6 times before I was finally put through to the supervisor of the call center. The supervisor gave me the number of the person who manages the cabs' operations. I then called this guy, who asked me to call up after another hour so that he could give me the number of the car's owner.
This "owner" (let's call him Mr. Lawyer) wasn't really the owner, but was the person who was running these cabs! (Look at the levels of contracts and sub contracts in this process).

I then told Mr. L what happened and L promised that he will revert by Thursday (day of the accident) evening. I waited until 9pm before calling L up again and he promised that the driver will call me on Friday morning and will settle the matter with me.
No surprises when the driver did not call me and I had to speak to L again to find out if he was indeed serious about this matter. The driver finally called me up on Friday evening and tried every which way to wriggle out of the mess he had crashed into. :)

After listening to various angles ranging from the accident being entirely the driver's fault to it being partially my fault to the driver's financial situations not being stable, I finally told him that he would have to pay for damages because there was no way I was letting him off that easy. He's to meet me today evening. Let's see if he comes.

A note about the cab company: pathetic customer service is what comes to mind. An accident is caused by one of their cabs and the "victim" is to call multiple times and to multiple people. It should be the company's responsibility to verify the details of the incident and revert with a plan. I guess this is one way of discouraging the complainant. I had almost given up.

I have got emails from folks asking me to report this matter to the police. I have also got calls from friends who're willing to help me register a police case.

Now, here's my take on this entire episode:

The accident wasn't a serious one.
If I had to register a case with the police, I might have had to go multiple times to the police station.
What happens behind the scenes is not in my control.
Lastly, my aim here was to make life difficult for this cab driver so that he understands that he cannot get away every time in such cases.

I will be traveling tomorrow so may not be able to update the blog until Wednesday.

Car got hit by a cab this morning!

2009-08-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

This morning (13th August '09) at around 1045 am, my car was hit by a cab while I was turning into Raheja Mindspace.

To better understand how this happened:

Imagine a four lane road
The cab was in the left most lane and almost stationary, as if it was deciding whether to turn into Raheja Mindspace.(The driver said that his customers wanted to know where Raheja Mindspace was and he was pointing it out to them when he hit my car.)
Because the left most lane was occupied by the cab, I was on the second lane from the left and turning left (with indicator et al).
I had almost completed turning when my car got hit by the cab and my left rear bumper was damaged (dislocated and badly scratched).

I stopped my car and pulled the cab over and gave him a piece of my mind. Initially, the driver was apologetic and said that it was his fault. I then said that this damage will cost around 3k (I own a Honda City & each panel's painting and denting costs 3k.) I told him to pay for the damages or deal with the Police.

He said he didn't have the money and after he saw that I was very serious about calling the Police (I called and spoke to the Police in front of him and a mobile police party was on its way to help), he started getting agitated and started saying that it was my fault. He also took up an aggresive stance. I explained to him the concept of lane driving, rule position when a car hits another from behind, etc but he wasnt ready to listen. So I said let's wait for the police to come so that they can explain these rules to him. He then sat in the car and motioned as if he was going to take the car to the side, but drove away. Luckily, the security personnel from Raheja had noted the number down and I then called the Cab company and lodged a complaint. I'm waiting to see what the cab company does and will update this blog later.

The bigger picture here is that such drivers cause harm to others who aren't at fault. What if instead of my car, there was a two wheeler with a kid on it? What if he had hit a pedestrian? He wasn't looking on the road, so he would have hit anyone who was in front at that time. For that, I am thankful that it was me and not someone else who could've gotten seriously injured. I want to make sure that this driver learns his lesson. I have half a mind to name the cab company here, but I will give them a chance to sort this out first.

Few pointers for others:

Always note down the errant car's number.
Call the police if the driver is refusing to pay for damages or if he is threatening you.
Make sure there are witnesses who can corroborate your version.
Don't let the driver off easily.

Video: Traffic in Hyderabad (Paradise)

2009-05-21T02:34:00.000-07:00

This video was not taken by me. I found this on Youtube.
This is a junction with traffic lights in perfect working condition, yet the situation is chaotic. Can we blame the government? Can we blame the Police? We can't, because we have a road that is good condition and we have police constables/home guards who're manning this junction. But still, because of pedestrians crossing the road at will, motorists jumping red lights and cars blocking free left turns, this junction is one of the most clogged ones in Hyderabad.

Videos: Traffic in Hyderabad (SR Nagar road)

2009-05-21T02:29:00.000-07:00

This video was not taken by me. I found this on Youtube.

Is the IIIT junction the next Cyber Towers ( as a bottleneck)?

2009-03-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

The IIIT junction at Gachibowli never used to have heavy traffic earlier. But as the number of companies at Gachibowli and Manikonda increased, the inevitable increase in vehicles has occurred. Now the road width in front of ISB/Infosys has been increased and this was something I had envisaged a long time ago; if you see the amount of construction taking place in Manikonda then you just need to connect the dots to realize that the traffic too will increase.
Looking at the wide roads, traffic jams should ideally not occur at the IIIT junction. But, anyone who drives on that particular road would have noticed the increased waiting time, even when you have to turn left. Main culprits are the autos that have started stopping on the left hand side (in front of the IDBI college), the cars that stop beside the cigarette shops about 50 meters before the junction and, suprisingly, the traffic police. The constables turn a blind eye towards the autos and cars that block the left lane and on being questioned about their lack of action on this, actually shout at you for daring to question them. At Cyber Towers, this was not the case because whenever a constable used to be stationed at the junction, he used to make sure that the left lane was kept free.
The autos have complete disregard for traffic rules and it is very irritating to see them cause traffic jams while trying to jump red signals. How they manage to ride around with such confidence is beyond me.
All its gonna take for this junction to be jam free is for road users to follow these basic rules:

Maintain lane discipline
Respect pedestrians
Don't jump signals

The road from the IIIT junction towards Manikonda also witnesses NEEDLESS jams and shamefully it is the educated professional who usually causes the traffic jam. There may be a temporary break in traffic flow because of a truck that's stuck or some minor road work that's going on; as a response, all you need to dois to slow down and maintain lane discpline. You will only be late by 5-10 minutes. Instead, I have noticed car and auto drivers crossing over on to the right hand side of the road and merrily drive on. This causes a much bigger traffic jam and should be avoided at all costs. Stick to your side, slow down and things will clear up. But who's gonna listen to me?

Free the left lane - UPS proves us right!

2009-03-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.pressroom.ups.com/mediakits/factsheet/0,1889,1493,00.html

UPS is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds.

In 2007, UPS implemented a new route planning technology, which minimizes left hand turns that:

shaved nearly 30 million miles off already streamlined delivery routes;
saved 3 million gallons of gas; and
reduced emissions by 32,000 metric tons of CO2 - the equivalent of removing 5,300 passenger cars off the road for an entire year.

This is huge! If one were to calculate the amount of time , fuel and CO2 emission that can be saved/reduced by freeing up Left Lanes in India (keep in mind that USA has a right lane driving), the numbers could be significant because of the high density of traffic here. What started as a simple experiment in July 2007 after getting stuck in traffic jams at Cyber Towers now has quantifiable benefits as demonstrated by UPS' adoption of this rule.

I wonder if a similar study can be done for Indian roads to figure out what savings can be achieved by having the left lanes free for traffic turning left. If I had more time, I'd probably reach out to car manufacturers, oil companies and supply chain companies to help with this study. The funny part is that having better traffic or at least free left lanes would help almost every Indian road user (except if there is someone who absolutely doesn't take left turns for reasons best know to him), yet nobody seems to be interested in doing something about it. I have been working very hard for the last few months ; that, coupled with feeble interest displayed by citizens to help with traffic improvement as resulted in me taking a back seat as far as new projects and initiatives go.

Quick Update

2009-01-28T04:45:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I last posted here. I have been very busy with work and have also been planning out the traffic initiative mentioned in the posts below. I will post a detailed update later, but for now I wish you a Happy New Year (It's still January) :)

P.S- I did not make it into the Top 8 MTV Youth Icon nominees. For those who voted for me and forwarded emails and smses - a BIG, heartfelt thank you! :)

Looking for Leaders - continued...

2008-11-18T04:20:00.000-08:00

Abhinay, Rahul and I met the Additional DCP (Traffic) for Cyberabad, Mr. Ashok Reddy today to discuss about our plan. He really liked the idea and has asked us to submit a proposal stating what we want to do and how we want to do it.
We hope to submit the proposal by next week. Meanwhile, here's how you can help:

Spread the word - chances of this project being successful get better if more people are aware of it.
Speak to your HR/powers-that-be about pitching in with donations.
Volunteer to manage this project within your company. You don't even have to step on to the road, just make sure that your company's employees are aware of this project and are willing to try this experiment that is good for everyone.
If you know any higher ups in any FM channels or newspaper companies that would be willing to become media partners for this project, please pass on their details to us.

Please post your comments.

Looking for Leaders!

2008-11-10T23:22:00.000-08:00

A couple of folks got in touch with me last week to work on the traffic problems we face. We have decided to work on the traffic issues based on the strategy in this post.

Also I hope that my nomination for the Pepsi MTV Youth Icon Awards will be helpful in reaching out to more people. ( AND BTW, PLEASE VOTE FOR ME) :)

We are looking for LEADERS who have the drive, passion and commitment to bring about a change in Hyderabad.

It is going to be very tough; It may be a thankless job but it will be very fulfilling. The same people you are trying to help will question your actions. The same people will argue and fight with you, but you will have to look at the bigger picture and carry on!

It will involve a lot of grit and dedication from your end; lot of sweat and tears as well! But when we're successful, we would have made our city a better place to live in- for us and for generations to follow.

The stretch of road we're targeting is from Jubilee Hills checkpost to Kothaguda junction.
Groups of LEADERS will manage the below entities:

Autos
Cabs
APSRTC buses
Pedestrians
Citizens who use 4 wheelers and/or 2 wheelers to commute

You will have the chance to work on real problems that plague almost every citizen ... and solve these problems. If you consider yourself a problem solver and believe that you can make a difference, then please join us. Send me an email at sikhoya at gmail dot com or you could also join the Traffic Google group and send an email to the group.

Techie nominated for MTV award

2008-11-06T01:22:00.000-08:00

This was the headline of the article in The Hindu about me today.
Incidentally the reporter, Abhijit Dev Kumar, helped a scooterist in a hit and run case this week. A two wheeler rider got hit by a Maruti Suzuki Swift car and the person drove away without bothering to stop. Abhijit then dialed 108(please use this number in case of emergencies - AMAZING Service) and called the ambulance - all this in the middle of the night!

Noticed something here? The scooterist got hit for no fault of his. Just because there was an inept person behind the wheel of a car, some poor soul on the road got hurt. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid by stopping the cab driver from driving rashly, but we all know how that story ended.

Here is the link to The Hindu article:
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/06/stories/2008110657890200.htm

Excerpt:

Techie nominated for MTV award
Hyderabad: The ire against Hyderabad’s traffic is quite evident in his blog. His initiative, ‘Free the left lane’, inspired young professionals to regulate traffic near the Cyber Towers junction. Meet Sameer Mehta, who was recently nominated for MTV’s Youth Icon Award for his initiative on traffic that started last year through ‘trafficinhyderabad.blogspot.com’.

A solutions architect from Sum Total, an IT company, Sameer often got stuck at the Hitech City crossroads on his way to work. “I saw that most motorists blocking traffic at the junction were well-educated professionals working in IT companies. When I got to work, I decided to write about traffic in the city, especially about keeping the left lane free. Most of the traffic jams are caused because the left lane is blocked,” says Sameer.

With close to 12,000 hits and 68 posts about traffic on his blog since July 2007, Sameer is now making a short documentary on the traffic scenario. To vote for Sameer Mehta, visit ‘ http://www.mtvyouthicon.in.com/nominee.php?id=46566’ or via SMS, “Icon SM” to 56882.

My MTV video

2008-11-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

This is the video that will be aired on MTV when my profile is covered:

http://mtvyouthicon.in.com/video.php?id=235

Nominated for the Pepsi MTV Youth Icon 2008 Awards.

2008-10-30T04:14:00.000-07:00

I have been nominated for the Pepsi MTV Youth Icon 2008 Awards. This was for the Free The Left Lane project. I had also won the Special Jury Award at the first CNN-IBN Citizen Journalist Awards in the 'Be The Change' Category.

A clip of my acceptance speech: http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/76805/10_2008/cj_awards2510_3a/cj-awards-step-forward-in-inclusive-journalism.html

I think the entire IT community should feel proud of this nomination, because it was a coordinated effort that included techies from different IT companies and it was only their dedication that made this project a success. This project was to show the people that if rules are followed on the road, driving can be a much better experience. I hope this gives a “normal”, “common” techie the inspiration that he too can bring about a change by getting up and taking charge of the problems faced by the society/city/country. Believe me, if you give up without a fight, then nothing will ever improve, but if you firmly believe in making a difference, then you certainly can – one citizen at a time!

I am one of the 30 nominees from all over India and the top 8 nominees (by votes) will be chosen as the Youth Icons and will have their faces printed on special edition Pepsi Cans. Getting nominated for the Youth Icon Awards itself is a big honour, but I'd also like to finish in the top 8 and for that I need your votes.

Online voting: Please vote for me here: http://www.mtvyouthicon.in.com/nominee.php?id=46566

Via SMS: SMS “Icon SM” to 56882 i.e. “Icon SM” to 56882

Spread the word! :)

The Traffic in Hyderabad on 18th Oct... phew

2008-10-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Traffic was bad in Hyderabad today because of the Aviation Expo. Actually it wasn't bad, it was PATHETIC. The entire stretch of road from Punjagutta to Secunderabad was jam packed.
Here's my experience (unfortunately I didn't carry my camera today or I would have added some great pictures)

I drove from Whitefields, Kondapur to Paradise, Secunderabad and then from Paradise to Charminar.
First traffic jam was at the Greenland flyover. It was so bad that after getting stuck for about 30 minutes there, I took a u-turn from under the flyover and took the Necklace Road route to go to the Secunderabad Railway Station, the intended destination. The Khairatabad flyover was also pretty bad. The traffic cop present at the IMAX circle was not allowing the traffic going to the left (i.e. towards Eat Street) to flow while the traffic from IMAX side was moving-that was wrong. Then on the turn towards Minister Road, there was another traffic jam for no discernible reason and as usual people were causing most of the traffic snarls.
We could not go to the Railway Station so we asked our guest to meet us at Paradise because there was no way that we could have reached the station(a distance of less than 5km) in less than 30-40 minutes. At one of the side lanes next to Paradise (the Sindhi Colony main road) there was an actual deadlock. Traffic was not moving at all and nobody was making an attempt to break the deadlock.
After our lunch, we started again hoping that things would be better in the evening. Things were equally bad and I saw common citizens directing traffic at 2 crossings;trying their best to bring some method in the madness, but I could see them facing the same problems we used to face on the roads - indiffirent drivers who don't realize that these citizens were putting in their time and energy to help . I gave one of them a thumbs up as I drove by and the look on his face said it all - he felt so nice that somebody had recognised his efforts. It was a look of pride, happiness and accomplishment. Pride because his efforts were altruistic. Happiness because somebody else understood what pain he was going through. Accomplishment because he was doing what 99.9% of the other citizens present on the road were not doing and that is being the change he wants to see in others and that my dear readers, is a big accomplishment.

Strategy to counter the growing traffic problems in Hyderabad :In progress

2008-10-15T04:30:00.000-07:00

{This is a work in progress. I thought of sharing it here to get your ideas, feedback and hopefully your involvement.}

What would be the best strategy to counter the growing traffic problems in Hyderabad? First, let's identify the various entities that contribute to this problem.

Autos
Cabs
APSRTC buses
Pedestrians
Citizens who use 4 wheelers and/or 2 wheelers to commute
Traffic Police
GHMC/APIIC depending on the area
Government/Political parties

Assuming that we have identified all the parameters, now let's see what would be the best way to deal with them.
First, create SMART goals such as 'Increase compliance with traffic rules' and 'Decongest major traffic junctions'. Lets call them HYDGOALS. These could be further broken down into sub goals that could be mapped to the entities identified above.
Create teams that would concentrate on tackling these areas, headed by a Project Manager. The team would create their own sub goals and then align those with the HYDGOALS. The Autos team would create goals such as ‘Get buy in from major Auto Unions to start following rules'. The APSRTC team would create goals such as 'Ensure buses stop within identified bus bays' and 'Ensure that the average time on routes is increased to reduce pressure on the drivers'.

All these subgoals would eventually roll up to fulfill a HYDGOAL, but by breaking them down, we make it easier to tackle and track them.

{will keep adding more stuff here}

Why do cab drivers drive rashly? First hand account

2008-10-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm talking about the white Indicas that ferry the ITES crowd to their offices. Just today while going to office, on the Durgam Cheruvu road(near the manhole that is spewing out water), this cabbie first cut into the opposite lane by bypassing the speed breaker (Mistake1) and then on seeing an oncoming vehicle it tried to cut into my lane and almost hit my car (Mistake2) where as the cabbie should have slowed down and come in behind my car. I had to break hard to avoid getting hit.
Now this got me furious, not because of what happened to me, but because next time somebody else's car could actually get hit or worse a pedestrian could get badly hurt because of this cabbie. I drove ahead and asked the cabbie to stop;pulled him to a side and asked the passengers (all ITES chaps) which company they were from (won't malign that company be naming it here) and then asked the name of the transport company (forgot the name). To my surprise, the passengers actually got angry..... with me. Imagine that. They had seen how this cabbie had driven, they knew it was this cabbie's fault and yet they started picking a fight with me. Then another cab carrying employees of this same company stopped and those guys who had no idea of what had happened (esp this bald guy who thought he could bully me into submission) started shouting at me.
Then one of the passengers of the original cab said that they didn't expect this from an educated guy. I tell you, I could have garlanded that guy. I said this was exactly my point. "You are educated and you saw how this guy drove, yet instead of making sure that the cabbie drives properly, 10 of you are ganging up against me and telling me that I shouldn't have stopped you this manner". Then this another passenger said... and this is hilarious... he says "I'm a senior manager . What are you telling me about rules"? I almost laughed in his face. How does being a senior manager make you an authority on traffic rules? He was this typical, I'm-a-manager-so-I-will-show-off kind of person And I'm pretty sure that bald guy was this senior manager's direct report because he said "We don't have to talk to these kind of persons, sir. Let's go". I mean hello!!!!! You weren't even there when it happened, Mr Bald Guy.

These are the kind of people we try to save from accidents. I told them that the only reason I stopped the cabbie was to make sure that he doesn't cause anybody else harm. I said that what if he had hit somebody known to you. Your father? Your mother? Would you wait until that happens or will you stop this cabbie from hurting someone before hand?
When things like this happen, you feel hurt and disappointed. For these same people we had stood in the sun to Free the Left Lane;for these same people we put in OUR TIME and EFFORT to solve traffic issues;then these guys just go and let you down so badly. All you are expected to do is do the right thing, to drive safely and to ensure that people around you drive safely. Is that so difficult?

Unbelievable experience. My stand that the people may be engineers/MBAs but may not be educated is exactly because of these kind of people.

Special Jury Mention Award Winner @ the first “Citizen Journalist” Awards

2008-10-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

The IBN Network has announced a path breaking editorial initiative of CNN-IBN and IBN7; the Citizen Journalist Awards. This is the first ever Citizen Journalist Awards and I have been chosen for the Special Jury Mention Award in the "Be the Change" Category.

Selection process:

The selection process for the CNN-IBN Citizen Journalist awards is a two-tiered one:

• Editor’s Call: The Editorial heads of Network18 decide the best out of the top 5 entries in each category.

• Jury: Jury votes by eminent citizens

The jury comprises of the following eminent personalities: Dr Kiran Bedi, Madhu Trehan, Neelam Krishnamoorthy, Nandita Das, Rakesyh Mehra, Arvind Kejriwal and Prasoon Joshi.

The awards will be presented on 16th Oct and I will be in Delhi to receive my award.

Here are the links:
http://features.ibnlive.com/features/cjawards/
http://features.ibnlive.com/features/cjawards/bethechange.php

Using Twitter for user generated traffic updates

2008-10-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

Now that I've copy-pasted that from the Twitter website, let me explain how Twitter could be used by users to generate traffic updates. Let's say you're driving through Mehdipatnam and you see a traffic jam because of an accident or because of some road works in progress. You decide to warn other drivers about this by sending an sms to 556511. People who "follow" you will receive your sms via Twitter and they can then choose to leave early or take another route.
Before GPS enabled maps with real time traffic data becomes more popular, I guess this could be an effective way of creating user generated "traffic maps".

If you like this idea, then create an account at Twitter.com and register your mobile device. Send me an email to let me know you have done this. My email id is available on my blogger profile. I will also send out an email to the Google group and find out if people are interested in trying out this idea.

Some photos sent in by a citizen - Kukatpally (JNTU)-Cyber Towers Route

2008-10-01T03:01:00.000-07:00

These photos were sent in by Sundar Paul. This is the stretch of road from JNTU to Cyber Towers. This road was a one way for about 3-4 months and just recently the second lane was reopened.
Many thanks, Sundar!

Road from JNTU to Cyber Towers is now open to traffic

2008-09-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

I received this piece of information today, so I thought of posting it on this blog. The road from JNTU to Cyber Towers is now open to traffic. I think it had been closed because of the work going on the flyover.

I haven't checked this on my own and would appreciate if somebody could confirm if this is true by leaving a comment.

How to use the Emergency/parking lights <> while driving on Hyd roads?

2008-08-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

Imagine that you're driving on a busy road in Hyderabad and the car in front of you brakes suddenly. You've seen this early and you're sure of braking in time, but what you're not sure is whether the vehicle behind you will also brake in time or whether it will smash into your car!

What I do to avoid being hit by vehicles behind me is to use the Emergency/parking lights to attract the attention of the driver behind me. The brake lights are used so often that people rarely pay any attention to it. These blinking lights are something out of the ordinary, so it comes in handy when a few extra seconds/milliseconds will help avoid any messy collisions. Try it!

690+ blog visitors in one day

2008-07-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

** This is not directed at anyone or at any establishment. It's written with the best of intentions and without malice. For all practical reasons, please assume that this post is directed towards my alter ego - The Engineer who breaks rules!**

After my friend, Rahul, sent an email to his company's internal (& informal) email DL, this blog received more than 690 visitors! I assume that most of the visitors were educated. I think I should start saying literate rather than educated, because educated people will/should not break rules. We could know how to read/write but if we cannot perform basic civic duties, then can we really call ourselves educated? What "education" did we receive?

It pains me to see B.Tech, MCA and MBA grads driving as if they were just let loose from the zoo(You know I'm not exaggerating). If they're in an auto or a cab, they take solace in the fact that they're not driving so technically they're not breaking any rules when the cab driver jumps a red light! YOU have to take control. You have to reign in the erring drivers. One stern warning does the trick- tell him that you will get off the auto and not pay him if he doesn't follow the traffic rules. Tell the cab driver that you will get off and hire another cab and that he would have to pay for your fare if he doesn't follow traffic rules! If you really want it, then anything is possible. Don't point fingers at the Police or at the Government. Sure they're not the best, but we should only raise questions to them once we have done our bit and breaking rules is an individual thing. It's wrong, so don't tell me that you're doing it because everyone else is!

I just hope that this triggers the right kind of actions from all of us!

The Traffic Jam at Gachibowli (Opp Hill Ridge)

2008-07-29T01:21:00.000-07:00

** Unedited version**

Techies who work in Gachibowli and the Financial District were stuck in a bad traffic jam (Bad? As Jack Nicholson in a Few Good Men asks Tom Cruise, “Is there another kind?”) this morning on the road in front of Hill Ridge Apartments. Lines of vehicles almost reached the traffic junction near IIIT. Looking at the way the traffic was building up, I thought there was a MAJOR problem that was causing this jam – maybe an accident or the road must have been dug up temporarily. Drivers thought that driving on the wrong side would help them steer clear of the traffic jam and they crossed the divider and started causing a jam on the other road also!

Do you know what the problem was? It was a truck that got stuck in the slush while attempting to turn left in front of the Gopichand Badminton Academy towards ISB/Microsoft/Infy and it had taken up one lane of the main Gachibowli road – THAT’S IT (If I missed something, please leave a comment and let me know). That was what caused the traffic jam where people were stuck for more than 30-45 minutes. Can you beat that? Something like this just required drivers to be smart and use the available 2 lanes and drive on ahead. Sure it will cause a bottle neck, but the delay would and should not have been more than 5 minutes. Yet, there was a massive build up of vehicles.

Alright, so even if we ignore the traffic jam for a moment, couldn’t some of those folks travelling in the vehicles have gotten out and helped move the truck and clear up the traffic? Not one person was interested in doing so! Everybody was interested in getting out of the jam even at the cost of bumping their cars into somebody else’s (This happened with us. This gentleman, who works close to where this jam occurred, thought that in order to change his lane, he could bang his car from behind into mine and then get ahead. After narrowly missing hitting my car, he had the audacity to honk his horn at my car all the way until he turned into his company’s parking. I also noticed that he was wearing a white shirt and tie so I assume he was an educated bloke. I don’t want to mention his car make and his company, because it will become easy to identify him. You sir, are exactly the reason why Hyderabad traffic suffers – educated people breaking traffic rules)

I stopped my car and got out to help. After checking out the situation, the Policemen and I tried pushing the truck out and in the process got splattered with slush. After about 5 minutes, a heavy duty machine used for digging was called in and it pulled out the truck. Even after that, people were still driving by slowly. The traffic policemen should have asked the drivers to move quickly to clear up traffic faster. Secondly, they should have stopped the vehicles from crossing the divider because that was slowing down traffic on both sides. After checking that the traffic was moving I left from there covered in mud to come back and write this post!

Why can’t we be considerate drivers? I too had the option of crossing the divider and moving into the wrong lane to get ahead, but I stayed put because I knew that I’d be causing a jam on the other side as well. Why in the first place did this happen? It was just one lane that was blocked and it should not have caused traffic on all 3 roads to stop moving. The reasons are:

· Nobody bothers about other drivers

· Concept of relaxed driving is alien. Everybody wants to get ahead.

· Rules can and will be broken without any thought. People look at the immediate gains rather than long term problems.

Tell me this: if each and everyone of you decided not to break rules from today(atleast the basic ones) and learnt to relax while driving, don’t you think that most of the traffic problems will go away? If this were to happen,

Traffic junctions would function smoothly because vehicles would not have stopped ahead of a zebra crossing and blocked the road for the other side’s traffic
Road rage would be minimal
The competition between vehicles while overtaking would stop. Right now, the way things work is that if there are 2 cars side by side approaching a bus that has stopped on the left side, the car on the left (that is in the bus’s path) should wait to move in to the right lane (the second car’s lane) or wait until the bus moves again. But what happens is that the car on the left would just blow its horn and come on the right lane and the second car has to rely on Schumacher style skills to avoid getting hit. Why the hurry?
Pedestrians would cross roads only at zebra crossings at traffic junctions or on Foot Over Bridges, instead of crossing, as Shakira would say, Whenever, Wherever!
Bus would not wait in the middle of the road, but would wait in bus shelters or on the side of the roads
Auto commuters would not stop and get off right in front of their offices, but would alight at a place that doesn’t hold up traffic. Can’t you walk an extra 20 steps?

So you see, lots of things could happen, but if all of you give up and take the easy way out looking at the immediate gains, then the long term effects of this would be…..pretty bad. You always have a choice, whether you choose to make the right one or the easy one is up to you!

1 year anniversary

2008-07-15T22:38:00.000-07:00

Wow!! The traffic blog is a year old. I had it at the back of my mind that I had started this blog sometime in July 2007 and checked today that the blog was started on July 9th, 2007. When I started this blog, I had no idea that it would come this far and contribute in some small way to making the traffic in Hyderabad better.
Let's see what's been done so far:

The Free The Left Lane(FTLL) campaign was successful, but unfortunately unsustainable without more support from techies and companies.
Companies that were involved in the FTLL campaign were: SumTotal Systems, Oracle and CSC.
We got featured on CNN IBN as a Citizen Journalist initiative.
I got involved with the Right2Walk initiative and I currently hold the post of Secretary in the R2W foundation
We also got in touch with a campaign that wants the Government of AP to check whether the Metro project is indeed the answer to Hyderabad's traffic woes.

There have been some disappointments as well; I had expected more people (esp the IT professionals) to participate actively in such initiatives, but I guess "Release Dates" is feared more than a traffic jam. No worries, I will continue work on projects that I think will make a difference. If after 10 years you feel that you could've made a difference, but didn't, then you can always come back to this post and leave a comment (I hope this blog will be around 10 years from now).

Some people responded to my idea of a short film on Traffic in Hyderabad by saying that others have tried making films showcasing the insensitive nature of Hyderabadi drivers and that it did not have any positive effect on the traffic condition. Well, lets see if I can change that. Even if one road user changes the way he/she drives/behaves on our roads, then it is worthwhile.

Important: Need pictures and videos on Hyderabad Traffic

2008-07-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

I am starting work on a short film/documentary on Hyderabad traffic; the intent is to bring in a change in the way EDUCATED people drive on the roads. Most of us don't realize that we break rules - using the cell phone while driving, drinking and driving, breaking one way rules, etc. If you're in the habit of clicking pictures or recording videos of traffic jams or rules being broken, then can you please email me such pictures?

If you do not already have such pics/videos, and if it's not too much trouble, then can you please carry your camera with you and click away whenever you see traffic jams, accidents, etc? Please spread the word around and ask your friends/colleagues to send in pics as well.

Like I said, the intent is to capture educated people breaking rules. Please let me know if you have some ideas for the documentary.

Is it time to pick up the pace?

2008-07-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

I was one of those incorrigble optimists - I believed that the average Hyderabadi cares for Hyderabad and is willing to put in effort to reign in the chaos on the roads. But, as time went by, it started dawning on me that the average Hyderabadi doesn't give a rat's backside to what happens to the other average Hyderbadi on the road. 'Me first, you ... who cares' attitude is ingrained in all of us. The same person who is usually late for office meetings, speeds through traffic because he cannot wait for another 90 seconds. (Arre boss, my time is precious and your life is not, so dont mind me running you over while I jump the red light.) That same guy when he reaches the office will most likely go get a coffee before he starts work. Hmmm... so could he not have waited for 90 seconds for that coffee? (Why should I care about you? My car, my wish, your car, your dent)
Anyway, watch this space for some updates on my plans.

What will happen to India?

2008-04-29T00:11:00.000-07:00

I'm worried.
I'm worried for you.
I'm worried that 5 years from now, an ambulance on our roads will be useless.
I'm worried that you can drive like a gentleman on America's roads, but forget the rules when driving on Indian roads.
I'm worried that we only talk and talking accomplishes nothing.
I'm worried that YOU are not worried.

We talk about initiatives, we talk about 'making a difference'.
Why not do something as simple as buying energy efficient cars?
If you stay within 5 kilometers of your office, why not cycle to work? Why such aversion towards using public transportation?
Why do we need more than a 100 tube lights within a 8000 sft office space and why do you need another 50 smaller light bulbs to augment the tube lights' lighting during the day?
Why are our trees being cut without a thought for the environment?
Why are the insurance companies not thinking about the potential (and definite) increase in medical claims that will start 10 years from now (or are they already thinking about this)?

YOU are only interested in making money and buying newer and better things now, but will you be able to drive your fancy car on "wide open roads" 5 years from now?
YOU will rejoice at the birth of your child, but have you thought about the air he will breathe while she is growing up?

You want India to be the next superpower, but drive on India's roads as if it is a jungle
You want the government to give you the best infrastructure, but cross the road in the middle of traffic even when there is a foot over bridge 5 meters away.
You want roads to be widened and the traffic lights to work properly, but will still jump signals because "everybody else is also doing it".
You drive as if you're behind schedule and your time is precious, but pray when was the last time YOU were on time for anything.
You shout at the cabbie who is driving in a one way in the wrong direction, all this while you're driving and telling your wife on the phone what to make for dinner.

This is not rhyme, this is not prose,
The fire is spreading and I have just one hose

Meeting on BRTS on Sunday, 30th March '08

2008-03-29T06:27:00.000-07:00

Prof. C. Ramachandraiah is a Reader and also an activist. He is campaigning for Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Hyderabad instead of the Metro. He will show us a presentation about BRTS and also share the gist of his discussions with a professor who exhaustively studied
about the success of this project in different countries and also analyzed its use for our country.

He wants to share the subject with us all so that we can understand what it is and how is it going to impact us in our daily lives.

Venue will be the office of Center for Economic and Social Studies, Begumpet. It would be a one and half hour session.

Topic: Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS)
Day: Sunday
Date: 30th of March
Timings: 10 am to 12 pm
Venue: Center for Economic and Social Studies, Begumpet, Hyderabad
Speaker: Prof. Ramachandraiah
Contact Number: 9440035405.

Directions as given by Prof. C. Ramachandraiah:

"1. Those coming from Ameerpet, Punjagutta, Srinagar colony can enter Punjagutta colony thru the lane in front of the temple (opp.Srinagar colony road). Proceed straight till dead end along the lane. On the right, there will be a big gate. (Adjacent to the gate is Vasundhara Apartments). Once inside the premises (it's a small campus), proceed to the main building.

2. Those coming from Greenlands side should take Greenlands-Ameerpet road. After Meridian Plaza, take first left lane (adjacent to 'VIP World' shop) and proceed straight till the end. There will be a gate with Genetics Institute's board. Enter and proceed straight. CESS will be there."

New approach road from Toli Chowki to Hitech city

2008-02-07T02:00:00.000-08:00

Another approach road to Hitech city has been opened to the public. This is from the Toli Chowli side. Keeping the new Police Commissioner's office to your RIGHT, carry on straight for about 500-800 meters, there is a petrol bunk to your LEFT. Just after this petrol bunk is the turn.

Hope more people start using this so that the load on the CT road is reduced.

I knew that this road was being constructed, but I was not aware that it is already open. I traveled on it today and it cut down on my travel time (coming from Gachibowli to Hitech City).

Pass this on to more people!

Traffic on Durgam Cheruvu (DC) road being streamlined (EDITED)

2008-01-24T01:25:00.000-08:00

Well, first post of 2008 and luckily it's still January. :)

(Just editing this post to mention that this initiative was done for a week and a lot of people had appreciated the efforts put in by the CSC volunteers. This was an independent initiative taken up by these committed folks. Good job!!)

Volunteers from CSC have taken up the task of making sure that their aren't any traffic jams on the DC road. For people unfamiliar with Hitech City, the DC road is a road just wide enough to allow 2 lanes of vehicles. What happens, though, is that over zealous drivers (both cabbies and "educated" IT professionals) try to overtake vehicles and end up blocking the road.
The volunteers are making sure that no vehicle breaks the lane and come on to the oncoming vehicle lane.

Again, a very simple concept, much like Free The Left Lane, but the benefits are that people leaving after a hectic day at work, don't get caught up in jams.

Is anyone thinking of the obvious question: why are these people, who hold full time jobs, taking pains to make sure that a total stranger reaches home in a happier and stress free frame of mind?
The answer is that our responsibilities as a citizen do not end with paying taxes. We need to become a society that is aware of its responsibilities; there are so many possibilities for us educated Indian. Sure, things are not the best, but there is nothing stopping us from making them the best. If you don't like the fact that your neighbour is ruining the empty plot next to your apartments by dumping garbage, then call up the GHMC and report it. If nothing happens after that, get in touch with Media (CNN IBN, Aaj Tak, Deccan Chronicle, etc) and seek their help.

I know of one lady who had problems with men who traveled in the ladies only compartments on the MMTS. She has reported this to the authorities and is now following up with them (and the Media) to make sure that this problem gets resolved.

The only thing stopping us from making India/Hyderabad a better place to live is ourselves. You don't have to move mountains to make a difference, just level the pile of dirt in front of you by calling up the Municipality. :) (metaphorically speaking, just in case somebody takes me literally)

The Google group - the purpose behind it.

2007-12-13T23:32:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to drive home a couple of points about the Traffic in Hyderabad Google group. It is meant for two kinds of people:

Those who like to take an active part in resolving traffic issues
And those who would like to hear traffic related developments in Hyderabad so that they can choose better routes or can pitch in by just following rules.

So even if you don't want to be active members of the volunteer group, you can still join the Google group. Send the link out to friends and colleagues and get them to join. You can choose to receive a daily digest instead of individual emails if an inbox with unread emails is a concern.

The core group of volunteers is also deliberating on whether to approach HYSEA (Hyderabad Software Exporters Association) and get its help in reaching out to the HYSEA member companies. This will enable us to reach out to more people.

The CNN IBN video that was played during the News.

2007-12-13T23:22:00.000-08:00

Our video from CNN IBN

2007-12-10T01:58:00.000-08:00

For those of you who missed watching the show, here's the link:

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/53879/12_2007/cj_0812_3/five-cjs-show-how-to-make-a-difference.html

We get featured on CNN IBN tomorrow, 8th Dec 930pm!!

2007-12-07T01:23:00.000-08:00

Our traffic initiative in Hyderabad will be featured on the 'Be The Change' episode on 8th Dec, 930pm. Through this we hope that people in Hyderabad start changing their driving habits.

Catch us on CNN IBN and let us know your views/comments/suggestions.

If it doesn't get aired, well.... tough luck... for us! :)

Next steps - Autos and how do we get people to walk a little

2007-11-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

As part of the CNN IBN 'Be the Change' show, our next steps towards traffic improvement in CT junction include solving the problems that the auto drivers and passengers create.

Broadly, the problems are:

Auto drivers stop their autos wherever they please, even stopping in the middle of the road.
Passengers get off the autos right in front of Cyber Towers causing vehicles to hold up behind them.
"Shared autos" keep hovering near the intersection in hopes of getting passengers and take up nearly 2 out of the 3 available lanes causing a bottleneck.
Passengers oblige these waiting autos by getting in them right at the intersection
People standing in the middle of the road to catch a bus/auto.

How we want to tackle this:

Create auto stands 50 meters away from the junction-any parking or auto stands need to be atleast 50 mtrs away from traffic junctions. At least 1 auto stand near Wipro and the other in front of Shilparam.
Put up boards near the traffic signal that informing people about the auto stands and that they shouldn't catch autos right at the signal.
Get the auto drivers to start using the auto stands. Same goes for the people intending to catch autos.

It is going to be EXTREMELY difficult,if not impossible; but as Anthony Hopkins says in Mission: Impossible 2 : "Mr. Hunt, this isn't Mission Difficult, it's Mission Impossible. "Difficult" should be a walk in the park for you."

I can use all the help that I get, so please if there are folks out there who would like to be involved in this "Mission", please send me an email at sikhoya [at] gmail [dot] com

We spoke with ADCP Ashok Reddy yesterday and he mentioned that the traffic police is willing to help out. I just went across and met DCP MuniSwamy and Addl DCP Ashok Reddy and handed them the letter requesting for their help. We should get the signed copy of the letter (approval) by Nov 30.

Created a Google Group..

2007-11-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

Hello

I had toyed around with the idea of creating a Google Group to reach out to people who are genuinely interested in helping this cause, but do not get the time to visit the blog frequently.

I finally created the group; here's the information:
* Group name: Traffic in Hyderabad
* Group home page: http://groups.google.com/group/trafficinhyderabad?hl=en
* Group email address trafficinhyderabad@googlegroups.com

This group is open to all who want to help make the traffic better in Hyderabad. I hope people join it and use it as a platform to discuss ideas, problems and solutions.

You can use the group to reach out to us.

How I would like to start the "Be the Change" episode!!

2007-11-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

From the Matrix!

Neo: I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... you're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone, and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you. A world <original lines edited from here > with rules and controls, with borders and boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.

This is essentially what we're trying to do. We're giving us a chance and where you go from here is a choice we leave to you!! And then I fly away! :)

The "Reality show on traffic" idea has been accepted by CNN IBN - woohoo!

2007-10-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

I had a call with CNN IBN yesterday and they said that they liked the idea and are going to use it for a show called Urban Chaos starting in Jan next year. :) I hope to get involved in the planning and execution of the show.
Meanwhile, they have asked me to shoot an episode for 'Be the Change', a show about citizens who tackle problems on their own. I have requested Jayarama, Ruchira and Murali to be a part of it as they, like me, are passionate about solving the traffic problems. (If you want to join in, send me an email)
I will be given a camera and will be expected to shoot for about 3 weeks, detailing what problem we face and what we are doing to solve it.
I hope it's not a prank (would be a good one though ;) ).
Anyway, this is just the means to get more traction on our efforts to ease the flow of traffic in CT (and maybe in Hyderabad as well).

Submitted an idea for a reality show to CNN IBN

2007-10-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

I submitted an idea to CNN-IBN about a reality show on traffic in Indian cities. Here is what I submitted:

Idea:
Why don't we have a reality show to find out which Indian city has the best traffic? This will give a chance to involve the people in the respective cities, a grassroots movement of sorts.

You can have user votes, a panel of judges, but most importantly, residents of the cities will take pride in making their city's traffic better. The end result will be that all the participating cities will have better traffic at the end of the show and everyone wins.
=======================================================

Let's see if they like the idea, because I think there will be a lot of positives coming out of such a reality show.

So what do we do next?

2007-10-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

After the relatively successful Free The Left Lane (FTLL) initiative, we are left thinking about the obvious question: What next?
I termed FTLL as "relatively successful" because for the 6 weeks that we were actively regulating the traffic, the traffic flow around CT was actually under control, primarily because of following one simple rule - keep the left lane free.
Now this proved that if the citizens wish to improve the traffic in Hyderabad, they can.

How can we sustain the momentum built up by FTLL?
In my opinion, in addition to changing people's mindsets about traffic rules, the traffic police should become strict with traffic offenders and start fining drivers who do not follow rules.

You could get fined for rash driving, using your mobile while driving, driving under the influence of alcohol, not wearing a seatbelt/helmet. Punishments could range from monetary fines to revoking licenses or even community service (I don't know how that would work in India)

This would raise funds for the Traffic Police and these funds could be used for procurement of better equipment. Quite honestly, I would rather prefer that the fines collected be used to increase the Traffic Policemen's salaries. It is hard, strenuous work out there; try standing on the road for 2 hours in a day, you'll realise how tough it is for the Traffic Policemen.

The show goes on!

2007-09-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

That's right. 14th September was the last day SumTotal volunteers were 'officially' regulating traffic at CT. But NO, that wasn't the last day of the initiative itself!
Inspired by the initiative taken, encouraged by the positive change seen, some of us employees of IT companies in the area have volunteered to continue this effort. And we plan to be at this for a 'few' more days at least!
So if you thought the orange 'jackealts' are gone, the left lane's going to be blocked, it's anarchy on the roads again...you're wrong! We'll still be there to free the left lane for you. To bring some sense in the madness. To help you reach work a little less frustrated!
And you can support us in this. By doing what you can - following rules.

Why?

2007-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day for SumTotal's volunteers to regulate the traffic at the CT junction. We started this initiative about a month ago. Now, volunteers from companies like Oracle, CSC, JDA Software and SumTotal will be taking this initiative forward. We hope to come up with a solution for the problems faced by and because of the pedestrians.

I will find out if my company can lend its buses, after they're done dropping our employees to the office, to help drop the people who wait for shared autos near CT to CG, CP, Mindspace, etc.
I don't know if this is feasible, but there's no harm in trying. If this does come true, there could be a possible backlash from the auto drivers because this might hit their earnings/business.

People's attitude towards this:

First of all (and this is important) -

I'm not blaming you;I know you have it in you to make that change!! :)

Though the response has been good, it hasn't been great. So many people have seen us helping with the traffic, but we still find it difficult to find enough volunteers. Does it mean that the rest of you, people who work in Hyderabad and are reading this blog, people who go past CT and see us regulating the traffic, don't care about Hyderabad? Have you forwarded this link to everyone you know in Hyderabad? Have you spoken about this when you meet your friends?
You can see that the state of affairs in Hyderabad is slowly worsening and you know that after a few months, the roads here will mirror Bangalore's congested roads, yet you still break those rules and you still behave as if you're not at fault. Why?

You act as if you don't have time; those projects have deadlines, the bugs need to be fixed, the patch needs to be tested, etc. Tell me, are you going to wait until the project called Hyderabad becomes critical and only then take remedial measures? Does everything have to be learnt only from the post mortem meeting? :)

If I ask you to list the problems with Hyderabad, you'd have enough data to start another blog, but if I ask you to do something, anything, about it..... would you?

When I see folks shouting at us when we're only trying to help the city (and them), I feel I should give up. Who knows, maybe I will give up someday and if later at a party in Mumbai or any other city, somebody passes a comment about Hyderabad and it's bad traffic (and the Hyderabadis' attitude), I'll just keep quiet and move on... knowing that I tried giving the citizens of Hyderabad a chance, but they didn't take it.

We're back on track!

2007-08-30T02:04:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed that we have started regulating the traffic again at CT junction. We have received the DCP's approval, which means that the Traffic Police will be (and is ) helping us out actively.

From the second week of September, I will get together with some people from other companies who have expressed an interest in doing something for the society and we may end up working on initiatives that are slightly bigger than this one. As always, if you're interested, please send me an email at sikhoya [ at] gmail [.] com .

The Police has expressed an interest in involving the IT companies in more campaigns and initiatives. We hope that we are able to help the Police (not just Traffic Police) in any which way that we can.

Initiative is on hold for a couple of weeks- here's why...

2007-08-26T05:31:00.000-07:00

The DCP, Cyberabad (Traffic) Munni Swamy and Additional DCP Cyberabad (Traffic) Ashok Kumar met with us on Friday to discuss about this initiative. They said that it was a good initiative and that they would work with us to make it a success. Until they come up with a plan that encompasses what we have set out to achieve, we will keep this project on hold. With the unfortunate turn of events on Saturday night, we do not want to burden the Police with our initiative's needs for now.

The initiative has achieved some of its goals:

People have started talking about traffic rules.
The winds of change are slowly but surely gathering pace - folks from Microsoft, Oracle, etc want to collaborate with us and take this forward. A MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT!!
If given a chance, the person driving on the road can follow rules.

We will follow up with the police after a week and update this blog. If you have any ideas/suggestions or if you'd like to join in this initiative to make Hyderabad better, please email me at sikhoya [at] gmail [dot] com

I apologize if I am unable to respond immediately to your emails. I will have sporadic access to the internet so may not be able to update the blog regularly.

Peace!!

Raining heavily- please be careful!

2007-08-24T02:45:00.000-07:00

Hello folks

It is raining heavily. The road in front of Ginger Court is flooded for about half a kilometer. The road opposite Cyber Gateway is flooded so badly that there is water flowing OVER the road divider. It isn't possible to go towards CT junction from Cyber Gateway.

We have informed the police about this.

Here are some snaps from in front of Cyber Gateway-

If you're turning left from Cyber Towers towards Kondapur....

2007-08-21T01:47:00.001-07:00

There is another road that takes you to Kondapur without you having to go via CT. If you take the road opposite TCS and adjacent to the petrol pump, you will be able to bypass the jam at Cyber Towers. This road finally comes out near the Godrej CII building, just before the Satyam building near Jaybheri.

and.... they're off!!!

2007-08-21T01:14:00.000-07:00

We started the initiative today. Most people appreciated it. Even the auto drivers understood that we're doing this to make driving in CT/Hyd better. Some folks did block the left lane, but we told them not to do it from tomorrow - let's hope they don't.

I hope all of you understand that we're doing this, not just for us, but for everyone. We want the traffic flow around CT to be streamlined and we want the office going crowd to realize that they are accountable for their driving.

We saw cars driven by executives from top companies breaking the law - cars stopped in the middle of the road so that the occupants could get off ... in the MIDDLE of the ROAD!! Would you forgive an educated person if he did this?

Cabs stopped in the middle of the road, autos stopped in front of Cyber Towers and caused traffic to choke. We hope that the people working in Cyber Towers, don't get off autos in front of their gate. They can get off the autos near Wipro or even after the autos have turned left at CT junction.

Of course some people did voice their disapproval of the initiative. They said that we were actually causing the traffic to pile up. I really don't see how that could be possible - after we left CT today, the traffic flow became slower and the left lane was NOT moving at all unless there was a green signal.

We're going to be there again in the evening and then again tomorrow morning. Volunteers are still needed- this initiative is not limited to SumTotal- they are just sponsoring it and most of the volunteers are from SumTotal. Folks from other companies can volunteer. So if you'd like to volunteer, please send me an email at sikhoya [at] gmail [dot] com

Wanted - volunteers.

2007-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

Ola! (and that's all the Spanish I know. No hablo espanol!)

Yes, we have the Traffic Police's approval.
No, we don't have enough volunteers.... yet!

We need a minimum of 50 volunteers per week - 10 per day (morning and evening).
As of now we have 17 volunteers. The slated launch date is 21st Aug - Tuesday. I'm really hoping that we get more volunteers. You do want the traffic to get better, right?

Why don't you join in? Please send me an email on sikhoya [at] gmail [dot] com if you'd like to volunteer.

Well....

2007-08-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

.... the tshirts have been printed, but we're yet to talk to the Traffic Police! :(
Hopefully, we should get the approval from the Police by tomorrow. If that happens, then by sometime next week, we can roll this initiative out.

Will keep you updated.

Update

2007-07-26T02:50:00.000-07:00

Feedback:
Our senior management was very receptive to the idea of using the left lane only if the intention is to turn left.

Here's what Sanjoy Sanyal, VP Professional Services and Training, SumTotal, had to say about the initiative : "Fantastic initiative! I had changed my work timings just to avoid the traffic at Cyber Towers junction. With this, the experience at Cyber Towers should get better."

Sudheer Koneru, Managing Director - India, SumTotal, said that he has instructed his driver NOT to use the left lane unless the car is taking a left turn at the junction.

Lekha Sishta, VP - HR & Talent Management, SumTotal, has given strict instructions to the company buses and cabs to not use the left lane to get close to the intersection at traffic junctions. Bus coordinators have been instructed to make sure that the drivers do not block the left lane at junctions.

Progress:
We have also ordered for t-shirts to be printed. (actually it's a contraption that looks like a sandwich placard so that it can be worn on top of a tshirt).

We're still deciding on the design of the banners. I need to come up with content for the posters.
Talks with the police have started and they liked the idea. There is supposed to be a meeting today which I may need to attend.

The Logo!!

2007-07-23T03:23:00.001-07:00

This is the Logo for our initiative. We will print this on T shirts, posters and banners.
We're meeting the Police today. I will post the summary of the meeting tomorrow.

I've been very busy with work, that is why I've been unable to update the blog as frequently as I'd like to. No worries! We're going to make this work! The "we" includes you!

We hit the 250 mark today!

2007-07-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

This blog was started on July 9th and it's already got 250 UNIQUE visitors!!

Please spread the word around! :)

Pics of yesterday's traffic jam

2007-07-17T02:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning, the traffic jam was beyond the Birlasoft building as can be seen in the snap here. Hopefully, if our project is successful, then people turning left at CT, will not be bothered by this.

The Change Lanes Here board should be hung on the arch that is seen in this snap.

The left lane was blocked at CT. People wanting to turn left here had to wait until some moron ,who was in the wrong lane, was able to proceed straight on the green signal.

If you have snaps or videos of the traffic in CT, please send me an email at sikhoya [at] gmail [dot] com

Meeting Summary: Plan of action

2007-07-13T04:36:00.000-07:00

Click on this image to get a brief understanding of what we're planning to do:

In addition to folks from our office, SumTotal Systems, we also had Major Shiva Kiran, from Sukuki Gensys, join in.

Plan of action:
1. Get help of the Police to move autos from the corner in front of Shilparam to a little further ahead.
2. Create an Auto Stand in front of Wipro that will be used for a drop-pick up point for people from CT. No autos to be allowed to stop in front of CT.
3. Paint zebra crossings and lanes on all 4 roads. The colour should be something other than white, preferably fluorescent orange- so that there is immediate impact for people who see it (something different always gets noticed).
4. Get a sign board on the arch next to Wipro which will say something like " Change lanes here to turn left at CT junction".
5. Get CT to allow us to put up banners along their wall.
6. Proposed names for this initiative(pick from these or ask folks to come up with more names):

Left Lane Free!
Free the Left Lane!
Right is Right!
And I just came up with this(in keeping with techiegiri): Left Outer Join!

7. Logo still to be decided. Once points 5 and 6 are decided, T shirts to be printed.
8. Rope in a radio station in this initiative and if possible, get an article into the papers.
9. Once, we're set with this, volunteers to stand at CT on weekdays from 930 to 1030am and 6pm to 7pm, extending back up to 50-100 metres.

Action item owners: 1,2,3,4 and 5 Primary Owner: Balaji. Folks to assist Balaji: Gautam, Uttam, Nikhil and Raghav.
6 and 7: Primary Owner: Shivaram. Folks to assist Shivaram: Sameer, Sujit and Vikas
8 : Primary Owner: Lekha. Folks to assist Lekha: Sameer, Sandeep

Timelines:
Click on the image to view the tentative project plan.

Planning starts tomorrow!

2007-07-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

So we're gonna brainstorm tomorrow and come up with a Plan of Action.

Agenda:

Paint the lanes on the roads at CT junction, hopefully with a different colour(not white).
Come up with a logo for this initiative.
Design posters, banners, etc.
Set a team in place that will implement different aspects of the plan.
Talk to the Police and explain our plan and get their approval.

To quote a dialog from the Hyderabadi movie, The Angrez, "Aise kaise jaate, Ismail bhai? Puuri pilanning ke saath jaana padta"!! ...... (Pachees saal se Cyber towers main baitha huan hoon, meri koi izzat hai yaaron! )

The meeting is at 230pm at our office, SumTotal Systems. If you'd like to attend the meeting, please leave a comment with your email address or get my gmail (gtalk) details from my profile and send me an email. If you'd like to post a dialog from The Angrez, that's fine too.... I guess! :)

Address:
SumTotal Systems
7th Floor, Maximus Towers
Building 2B, Mindspace
Raheja IT Park, Madhapur
Hyderabad - 500 081

People who have signed up for the initiative

2007-07-10T23:05:00.001-07:00

I'm going to maintain a list of folks who are interested in this initiative and, by virtue of showing interest in this, agree to leave the left lane free. ;)
1. Sameer Mehta, SumTotal Systems
2. Chintan Desai, Cognizant
3. Sujit Reddy, SumTotal Systems
4. Shivaram Kotari, SumTotal Systems
5. Radhakrishna Chaganti, SumTotal Systems
6. Vikas Kumar Sharma, SumTotal Systems
7. Santosh Damaraju, SumTotal Systems
8. Ramakrishna Raju, SumTotal Systems
9. Raghavendra Kiran, SumTotal Systems
10. Nikhil Bhargava, SumTotal Systems
11. Raghunath Ajjugattu, SumTotal Systems
12. Sandeep Patnaikuni, SumTotal Systems
13. Gautam Narayan, SumTotal Systems
14. Soumitra Pradhan, SumTotal Systems
[Edit - 4:55 pm 11th July]
15. Satish K. , Infosys
16. Priya Ramachandran, Google
17. Neha Upreti, Microsoft
18. Lekha Sishta, SumTotal Systems
19. Gayatri Devi, SumTotal Systems
[Edit - 7:oo pm 11th July]
20. Sandeep Reddy, SumTotal Systems
21. Uttam M, SumTotal Systems
22. Raghav Gangaraju, SumTotal Systems
23. Arun Kumar, SumTotal Systems
[Edit - 3:oo pm 17th July]
24. Somendra Chauhan, SumTotal Systems
25. Shaik Imam Hussain, SumTotal Systems
26. Maj Shiva Kiran, Sukuki Gensys
27. Suman Motaparthy, KPIT Cummins
28. Ajay Kumar Singh, Medrc Edutech
29. Srikrishna P, SumTotal Systems

I will keep editing this or will add new posts as and when more people join in. :)

Witnessed an accident near IIPM, Hyderabad

2007-07-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

A man riding a new red Pulsar bike had an accident right in front of my car this morning at around 945 AM, near the IIPM building in Erramanzil, Banjara Hills. The man is safe.

A white Maruti 800 came in from the wrong side of the road and was attempting to cross over to the left hand side. The bike hit the car head on. He was helped by the folks standing around there. I helped pick up his bike which was BADLY damaged. The petrol tank was dented - the dent was a good 10 inches long and 2 inches deep. Can you imagine what would have happened had the tank not taken the brunt of the collision. The rider was wearing a helmet, that is why he is still walking. Trust me, I saw the accident and there is no way the rider could have escaped if he were not wearing a helmet.

The rider works in Ernst and Young. So if you know anyone working in E&Y, please let pass this information on to them. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get his name or phone number. A gentleman in a white Maruti Zen volunteered to take the rider to Care Hospital. Many thanks to the Good Samaritan (car's number ended in 5010, I think). Funnily, some folks thought that it was his car that banged into the bike. :)

If any of you were present at the accident site and managed to get the number of the car that caused the accident, please post a comment here. The car was a white Maruti 800, slightly old, will have dents in the front right hand side and its right indicator/headlight might have been broken.

I forgot to get my camera along today, otherwise I would have taken a snap of the car.

We get our first sponsor.

2007-07-10T02:54:00.000-07:00

Guess what? I pitched this idea to my company, SumTotal Systems, and they're ready to sponsor T shirts, banners, stickers for cars, etc. :)
Folks from my company are interested. It remains to be seen whether techies from other companies join in in this initiative.
Please spread the word and do leave your comments.

(I think this could work)

Number of hits increasing on the blog...

2007-07-10T01:11:00.000-07:00

Good to see that the number of hits is increasing on the blog.
If you feel that you want to participate in this, please, please do leave your comments so that I know I'm not the only one interested in hassle free driving! :)
Come on, you really can make a difference! Remember, just one small change at a time.
In a few day, I do hope to actually stand at the Cyber Towers crossing and make sure that the left lane is free, but if you folks can start practicing this from today, that's even better.

Well, well. Another person trying to make the traffic better in Hyderabad?

2007-07-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

Yes! I know. You're like "Haven't we seen all this before? A techie suddenly decides to make things better in the world by using blogs and "web 2.0".

Actually, I'm not out to make traffic better in Hyderabad. No sir, we need Mahatma Gandhi for that. Right now, I just want to make the traffic better in Madhapur, more specifically, at the Cyber Towers junction. Reason: most of the folks who drive around this place are educated and are working in IT companies. They have the same feelings that I have every morning- angry, helpless, wondering why they didn't start 30 mins earlier to beat the traffic. So there is a good chance that these same people would want to try to make the traffic better. My fellow techies would also be in a position to force their company's cab drivers to drive responsibly.

We can start with one small change at a time. The first change really has to be to keep the left lane free for people wanting to turn left. It's simple, but can it be done?
Just follow lane driving rules around the Cyber towers area. Let me see if I can take few photos tomorrow that will help us all understand why I ask that you keep the left lane free.

Looking forward to all the help I can get from fellow techies. Hyderabad traffic is not something that only one person can influence.