Need of the Hour: Basic Amenities or Bullet Train ?

A crowded street in India with people sleeping on the pavement.

Posted By:Infra Bazaar



On 5th November, 2013, The Indian Space Research Organization launched “Mangalyan”. It was a government sponsored Mars Orbiter Mission. After the successful launch of Mangalyan, a section of Indian intellectuals which included renowned scientists, scholars and a group of politicians took a lot of pride in declaring that we, the Indian managed to achieve the impossible. Not in technical terms, but financially. Now another hefty venture is underway which has become the talk of the nation…introduction of bullet trains!

This entire project was completed in $67 million or 450 crores of Indian Rupees to explore the unknown! Now the question remains.. What about those existing, living entities who are deprived of the basic amenities in this country? It needs to be mentioned in this context, that even today, India is considered to be as one of the “Developing Countries” in the world, where 30% of the Indian population live below the poverty line. This indicates that massive investments need to be made in order to provide the basic amenities to these deprived segments of the Indian population.

Shall Growth Be Ignored?

Before we try and find out a realistic answer to this question, let’s first understand what exactly we mean by “growth”. On one hand 30% out of 120 billion are struggling to survive and on the other hand we are making a lot of song and dance about the introduction of bullet trains. This is certainly not what growth is all about! Growth refers to the overall economic development of the country where people have access to the basic amenities of life. Thousand, if not millions, have set up their dwellings on the streets of India. Every year, hundreds of people die from extreme climatic conditions. At times I wonder, how many homes could have been built with 450 crores. The Indian construction sector, being one of the largest in the world would have gladly taken up the project. It would have been a milestone in the history of India, the largest Democracy in the World.

What are the Basic Amenities?

Well, without getting into technicalities, let me put it in simple words. By basic amenities we mean the basic requirements which we need to survive, which are food, drinking water, clothing and shelter. There has been a lack of initiative on the part of the ruling elites of this country to address these issues. Instead, they prefer to invest money, which would help to cover the soul of India with an attractive disguise.

Those Who are Homeless!

Given the fact that India has such a huge potential in the construction sector, which is quite evident the way we see mind boggling structures are being set up throughout the length and breadth of the country. There seems to be no lack of capital as we can see a huge amount of investment coming into different sectors. Putting these two factors together, one can’t help but wonder why instead nof introducing bullet trains, any of the regimes has taken up the initiative to build homes for the homeless! People lying on the streets do not represent what we claim, “Shining India”

The Real Need of the Hour…

We all want our country to progress and be one of the superpowers in the world. However, in order to achieve our dream, we simply cannot afford to ignore and deny the basic amenities which millions of fellow Indians are deprived of. Definitey introduction of bullet trains are necessary for the growh of the nation in the long run, but for thousands of Indians the need of the hour is the basic amenities that the crave for. Give them home, provide them education and thus help India to grow in the truest sense. 



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