HOW INDIA MOVES GRIDLOCKED

India moves is brutally simple: it does not. Urban India is gridlocked and congested, and the problem is not limited to big cities. An analysis by SUNITA NARAIN, ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY, SHUBHAM SRIVASTAVA AND SAYAN ROY

- SUNITA NARAIN, ANUMITA ROYCHOWDHURY, SHUBHAM SRIVASTAVA AND SAYAN ROY

JUST ABOUT everywhere in Indian cities, the time it takes for people to travel to work or for leisure doubles between the off-peak and peak hours. What we often fail to realise is that congestion is not benignit not only contributes to the toxic pollution in the air we breathe, but also takes a toll on our mental well-being. It is this human face of being stuck in traffic that should compel us to make a change.

Richie (name changed), a professional in the development sector in Delhi, commutes 30 km from Dwarka to South Delhi for work. He estimates that he loses 24 hours-a full day-every eight days to traffic congestion. That adds up to nearly two years lost to traffic, over the past 15 years of commuting to his workplace from Dwarka. This is despite Richie's efforts to avoid peak traffic hours, which in Delhi typically run from 9 am to 12 noon and again from 6 pm to 9 pm.

Richie's colleague Kiran, who also lives in Dwarka, prefers to take the metro.

But it does not ease her commute much. To cover the last leg of her journey-4.5 km from the metro station to office-she relies on autorickshaws, which take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes to cover the distance, depending on congestion.

This is a daily ordeal, which has a huge impact on our quality of life and mental health. We lose productive time stuck in traffic; we lose time with our families; and by the time we reach our destination, it feels as though we have come through a warzone.