Right angled wrong
Make sure it's at the right angle, architects to civil engineers to builders are wont to say. This provides safety and durability to so much construction. Like walls have to be at 90° to the floor. But throughout human history, roads have been different. They are curve-loving creatures. As are their cousins, from rail lines to bridges. So when a new bridge in the heart of Bhopal neared inauguration on June 15, and its 90° bend came to public light, it drew shocked gasps, angry questions, and fearful worries.
But the numerous parties, public and private, involved in the bridge's making since its design was sanctioned in 2018, have a hardier constitution, evidently. They share it with all those who last year delivered to Mumbai a bridge with a 6-foot vertical gap with the adjacent flyover. Amul girl was left fretting, Pul ko push kaun karega? Who will make the connections? Govts are never as disconcerted as the public. They simply roll out more trucks of crores and concrete. Problem fixed.
The Arkadiko stone bridge in Greece has survived since 1300 BC. Once it carried chariots, today it tolerates cars. Such enduring public infra Indians do not even dream of. We have also been conditioned not to expect Golden Gate like beauty. All we now ask for is basic functionality. Instead of Ripley's Believe It or Not horror stories.
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This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
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