there was a photo in hindu update pages that surely tells india is 'developing'. in banjara hills (a posh locality in hyderabad) rows and rows of cars have lined up and jostling for space. india, the urban elite india, wants india to be like america where everybody travels only in car in absence of viable public transport system in most metros.

but the sad reality is india neither has good transport system and also no space for roads, leaving cities chocked in massive pollution with the result car owners -the energy guzzling section of india that is driving consumerism and huge stretch on our ecosystems- demanding more and more space for their cars.

cars it seems transport only couple of percentage points of urban india but occupy like 75% of road space. india's ever increasing import bill on oil is due to the massive car demand. our car manufacturers are out of line and out of touch with places like california which is having aggressive emission standards and pushing for more aggressive standards.

i think we have to call 'development' in india as 'carlopment', to justify the fact that only a certain section of society is benefiting from the indiscriminate social and environmental policies of the government.('Vehicle pile-up' during morning hours on the Somajiguda-Punjagutta stretch up to Banjara Hills in Hyderabad. With the absence of traffic police on this stretch, motorists face a hard time negotiating this area. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf of Hindu)