Temperatures have been soaring lately and no one has been spared. The battle against heat has begun and Nagpur has led the charge with its tarpaulin solution, an idea so bafflingly simple that you’d never expect it to work.
Except that it somehow works. Occam’s razor anyone?
The Nagpur authorities have started installing tarpaulin sheets at traffic signals.
My reaction to this was to laugh, then scratch my chin and wonder out loud, “Abbe, sahi idea toh hai…” It sounds like the kind of idea Kejriwal would get shit for coming up with.
Nagpur is standing right on top of the simple-stupid line while managing to hit two birds with one stone. Not only has it been a welcome relief for weary walkers and molten motorists, it’s had the added effect of lowering traffic violations.
As it turns out, people hate the heat more than they hate waiting.
And now, the flipside. If this is your only solution to beat the heat, then I have some bad news for you. These tarpaulin covers don’t cover more than 5 square meters or so in area. I’d like to stay positive on this one and say that it’s great that they’ve at least tried to address the problem.
But this isn’t really a solution, it’s little more than a clever jugaad.