Madikeri: Just a thought

Madikeri is a town in Coorg (Kodagu) - The Kashmir of Karnataka. This is where I was born and lived till I was 12. I went to St.Joseph's convent till my 7th grade and after that I did all my schooling away from Madikeri. Nowadays I visit Madikeri for a month during Dec~Jan.

The last time I visited my home town was in December 2010. To my shock it was full of trenches. I learned that there was a grant and the government thought that the funds would be put to better use if the drainage system could be improved. I thought it was a good thing to do considering that Madikeri gets a lot of rainfall. A good drainage system would ensure that water keeps off the road.
Also it was a good gesture that the authorities were planning on improving the infrastructure.

A word about drains: The 'drains' that I am talking about here are not sewers that are outlets from sanitary rooms. These are drains designed to lead rain water out of the town. They don't have filth nor are they unclean. They are usually dry except for the rainy season.

Back to the story, When I saw the work that was underway, I honestly felt that the labourers were working a lot. India still is one of those countries that thrives on cheap manual labour which has it's own pitfalls:

1. The time it takes to get the job done.
2. The amount of manpower needed.
3. Causalities that may occcur.
   etc etc..

I saw people lifting Reinforced Cement Concrete(RCC) slabs from trucks and placing them on the constructed drains to cover them up. I mean manually lifting the slabs with their hands. They had bruises and cuts all over their bodies. They had no adequate protection but they didn't seem to care and were still doing their job. They were men who worked honestly as per instructions (something seldom seen), but were no doubt underpaid. Considering the kind of job they did they surely deserved better.

Now the rainy season has begun. Although I am not in Coorg, I hear the stories. Considering the amount invested and the inconveniences caused things have not improved so much. The town still has blockages and the water still prefers to flow on the road than use the path meant for it - The Drain.

That makes me wonder...what went wrong? Being in India is an adventure in itself. Although it is a known fact that corruption is everywhere I am not sure if that can be blamed for this 'drainage disaster'. A little pre-planning such as these could have helped improve the situation:

• Is the drain wide/deep/steep enough?
  Do some math.
• Why do drains get clogged up?
  Half the time it is silt/mud/soil.
• How does silt get in there?
  Probably from the edges of the road or someone dumped it there.
• Why does the soil leave the road?
  Poor road construction or the road was not built to specifications.
• Why will someone dump mud in the drain??
  Moral/common sense issues!! (Clearly)

Facts about drainage construction in India:

1. Underground drains are uncommon except in developed cities.
2. Drains are usually left open since it rains a lot - It's easier for water to get collected.
3. Drains are built at a level that is lower than that of the road to make it easier for water to flow into the drain.

The main problem arises when silt flows from the road to the drain and settles in. The volume of water that the drain can now accommodate is less than it should and the water overflows. There is another problem too - This water is muddy.

A couple of things the authorities should have done first:

• Repaired all roads.
• Taken steps to prevent soil erosion. At least taken precautions so that the soil/silt doesn't reach the drain.

The grant was so huge that they ended up building drains and digging trenches in the whole town. Yes, you got me right....the whole town!!  No roads were spared. What a dedication!! If they had put a little thought beforehand their job would have been well appreciated. People had to face a number of problems during the digging process:

1. Vehicles in the whole town needed a parking lot. Vehicles were parked along side the road. Most vehicles couldn't reach the garage and vehicles in the garage couldn't be brought out.
2. People couldn't use their own vehicles. No provisions were made to help people to bring their vehicles out of the garage.
3. You never knew which street was next on the 'Digging' list. Full of surprises! In the evening when you got back home there would be a trench right at the front gate that would say " Welcome home!!".
4. It was not an organized digging. The whole town was dug up almost simultaneously and the closure took months.
5. Dust.
   etc etc.

I am sure the people there could share their experiences better.

People have been forced to face so many inconveniences and yet the situation doesn't seem to have improved.
Nobody expected to get a drainage system in the whole town. Rather than digging up the whole town, if the concerned authorities had thought about improving a few areas in town, Madikeri would have been a better place and their work would have been much appreciated.

I wonder if the system in India will ever change...
I wonder if the people would be paid right for the kind of job they do...
I wonder if there will be machines that do the job in a fraction of the time needed now...
I wonder if a laborer's life weighs the same in the eyes of the authorities...
I wonder if the authorities will think of the inconveniences/consequences before attempting something like this again...
Most of all I wonder what's next...

PS: Machines may lead to unemployment problems but this is not part of the topic. :-)