THERE may not be any social group in Nagpur -- formal or informal -- whose members do not complain about the way the city is being “developed” by powers that be. Those complaints are generally in hushed voices, as if no one wants anybody else to hear what the complaints are about. The complaints, however, are about cement roads being thrust upon the city when they are not a dire necessity. The complaints are also about the mushrooming of fly-overs all over the city when their need is often suspect. Most such groups have many questions to raise, but actually feel that there is nobody listening. ‘The Hitavada’ has been voicing popular sentiment on these issues for long -- like do other newspapers. The loosefooter never misses an opportunity to state the facts as those are on city’s developmental scenario. Slowly, public opinion in this regard is waking up.

 

Yet, the question is: Is any body listening ? “How long will the authorities keep messing up the city?”, people ask indignantly. And there is no answer. “Why should we vote for such people ?”, a gentleman in a group asked. His argument was clear: When a lot of undesirable activity is being undertaken in the name of development, why is not there a mechanism to stall such negativism? Another gentleman counselled him, “Come on. Cool down. They are in power, and they can do anything. The common people will have to endure all the nonsense.” “But that does not mean we should allow somebody to cause a serious damage to the city? Once you make a road or a wrongly designed fly-over that is not actually needed, then the city has to live with it forever. This is a horrible prospect,” another gentleman said (in a shrill voice).

 

The nature of most such conversations is more or less similar -- angry people voicing their opinions. Initial hushed tones give way to shrill assertions and criticism becomes more barbed and acerbic. The question the loosefooter wishes to ask is: Do not the people in political and civic power ever get to know how the people feel about issues ? Do they not have a mechanism by way of which they can know the actual public opinion ? As a journalist of some standing, the loosefooter has access to some inside information about what may be happening in political circles. His ‘sources’ have told him that the political community has adopted a ‘deaf ear’ policy towards such criticism.

 

No matter what the people have to say about issues, the people in politics have no time and inclination to listen to those voices. Or, in other words, they have decided to ignore popular mood and push their ideas in the most brazen manner. Another policy the political and bureaucratic community had adopted is to declare people as anti-development or ignorant of the city will actually need in future. In short, the second approach can be described in other words as well: Name the dog as a mad dog and start beating him with a stick. So, brand ‘negative’ public opinion as anti-development and ignorant -- and forget about the criticism. No matter what is written in text books and political essays, this is the practical democracy for us !n