Page 184 - CW E-Magazine (8-4-2025)

Free to Die

13 hours to cover about 600 km, in D C Banking of highways
spite of the good condition of the road. A D A I fi nd engineers are shy of banking
The average distance covered was less the highways on turnings. This leads to
than 50 km per hour. several thousand accidents. Flat curves
throw the vehicles away. Depending
The main cause of the delay was truck on the loading and speed the vehicle is
traffi c. Most trucks were overloaded Cross-section of the Road thrown away, at times in the valley. The
B
and not able to maintain the desired A = Storm Water Drain B = Hard soling formula for calculation is simple (v /r=g
2
speed. While all trucks are required to C = Tar or concrete layer D = Connections to drain cosθ where v is the velocity, θ is the angle
use the second or third lanes, it appears with horizontal, r is the radius of curva-
only half the truck drivers follow this we saw serious fl oods in the next mon- ture of the road, and g is acceleration due
rule, and the other half drive in the fi rst soon. As a responsible citizen and also to gravity) If permitted velocity is high,
(right) fast lane reserved for cars. As a as a warden of Hostel No 1, I wrote to a higher slope may have to be provided
result, we have all three lanes occupied Matunga offi ce of the then Bombay like it happens in racing tracks. Motor
by trucks moving at different speeds. Municipal Corporation (BMC) stating bikers in circus drive on completely
Smaller vehicles have to weave between that in the new construction, waterways cylindrical surface at right angles to the
two large vehicles. On our journey, had been signifi cantly reduced, and this ground and do not slip or fall down.
we had to overtake roughly about 350 was leading to fl ooding. Surprisingly, I
trucks from the left side. received a reply from the engineer of As the engineers do not provide
BMC that they had calculated the drain adequate slopes, very low speeds have
The erring drivers need a refresher rate for 25-mm per hour rainfall, and on to be specifi ed, like on JJ Flyover, the
on rules of the road. I have a sugges- some days there may be a problem for Mumbai-Pune Expressway Lonavala
tion. The RTO should install a resi- short time. Over a period of time, all Bypass, or the connection of Mumbai-
dential schools along major State and roads of Mumbai have been concretized Pune Expressway with Pune-Bangalore
National highways. The erring driver and as a result there is fl ooding in all highway where a pathetic 30 kmph
should be given a nine-hour refresher low-lying areas. Part of it may be due speed limit is specifi ed. The department
training on rules of the road. The school to changing rain patterns, but I attribute has to protect the edge of the road with
should have adequate facility for park- most of it to reduced waterways to the used tires to avoid jumping of vehicles
ing the truck, bedrooms for night stay, drains. There are situations when an outside the road. To reduce accidents
and a good eatery. The driver should area is fl ooded, and the drains are runn- at curvatures, the curves must be
be required to pay a fee ranging from ing empty. All of us will remember the adequately banked to prevent skidding
Rs. 300-500 for the training and stay. tragic death of Dr. Deepak Amrapurkar of the vehicles even at a high velocity.
The course should be repeated as many who was sucked in an open manhole on A table of radius of the curve, velo-
times as the person is found breaking August 29, 2017. A person cannot be city permitted, and the angle of inclina-
the rules. This will ensure safe roads to sucked inside a drain unless the drain is tion is as follows.
all users, provide employment to trainers running under vacuum. That means the
and revenue to RTO. About 30,000- waterway has been reduced so much, Velocity Radius θ
50,000 such training schools are re- that the area is fl ooded and when a man- km/hr m Theta
quired in our country. hole is opened for allowing the fl ood
water to fl ow out, the drain is happy to 10.0 10 85.5
Waterlogging on roads oblige. If there was an adequate water 15.0 20 84.9
I have spent about 20 years of my way available, water would not have 30.0 30 76.3
life on UDCT campus as a student and accumulated on the road. The solution 45.0 40 66.5
as a professor. Till 1997, I never saw to the problem of fl ooding in Mumbai
any fl ooding on R.A. Kidwai Road. In lies here. If the frequency of the outlets 60.0 50 55.5
1997, BMC started concreting the four- to the storm water drains is increased 80.0 60 33.0
lane highway. In this exercise, they three to fi ve folds, adequate amount
removed the earlier drain covers and of rainwater will enter the drains, and Addition of anti-stripping agents to
replaced them with new better-looking fl ooding can be prevented. The drains the tar
ones. The frequency of the covers was will not run empty, and water will not Tar is essentially a residue of petro-
reduced to well below 50%. As a result, accumulate on the roads. leum refi ning. Some manufacturers

184 Chemical Weekly April 8, 2025

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