'People honk even if your vehicle is far'

Dr Suvarna Patil feels absolutely no need to honk on the stretch from Tayade College on Koradi Road to her home near Nagpur University campus, Amravati Road. A teacher of botany, she has been driving on the same route since the past 22 years. Before the flyovers came up, it used to get a little chaotic and took a lot of time to reach home or college. But now, that 45 minute drive has been reduced to just about 20 minutes,” she says.Apart from the flyover, there has been little change in the traffic patterns. And ideally, there’s no need to honk, she says. “People honk no matter how far your vehicle is from theirs, and the decibels increase on public holidays or on days when there is an important cricket match,” she said. Patil honked a couple of times near Futala Lake, which was cordoned off for Independence Day. Even when two cars came in front of Patil’s vehicle, she did not honk, and allowed the cars to go. “If you stop at a signal, people think you’re new to the area,” she laughs. Patil wears a seat belt as a habit every time she’s at the wheel, and feels that youngsters in the city need to be aware about ill-effects of honking excessively.
(Reporting: Abha Goradia)