The Real Cost of Development !

My association with NH-15 (connecting Kandla in Gujarat to Pathankot in Punjab) goes back to more than 20 years as I have to traverse through this highway to reach my native place - Pathankot. Nothing had changed much in the past 15-20 years - be it the potholes, the erratic lorry drivers or the dilapidated road side dhabas and shops . I always thought that the pace of development was really slow in this part of India. 

Last week again, I found myself on the same road. But this time, to my astonishment, things were changing finally. The highway was being widened. I thanked heavens for bestowing much needed wisdom on the authorities. But that relief was short lived as I realized that the widening had come at the cost of 100 years old (or may be more) mango trees which had so gracefully lined the boulevard all these decades.

Trees flattened to make the highway

Tree trunks lying by the roadside

As we zipped along the highway, I realized that it would have taken hundreds of trees to make way for the highway. I am no tree-hugging social activist but as we moved on and on I could feel a deep sense of sadness gripping my heart. Over the years, I had somehow developed a bonding with the trees. I could remember peeping out of the bus/car windows to get a cool breeze along the highway. Even in scorching summers (and non-AC car !), the trees with their shade would make a drive on this highway a lot easier. Not to forget the ease with which we could bear the traffic snarl caused due to closed railway-crossings. As I was engrossed in my own memories, my father was engulfed in his own poignant memoirs. He told me how he remembered playing under the shade of the trees with his friends, how they used to pluck mangoes from the trees and then go to the nearby canal to savour them and have a hearty bath later on ! 

That day, I realized that other than the apparent cost of development which may extend up to a few hundred-thousand crores, there is also an undisclosed cost associated with it - the cost of the memories. And no matter what, you can't put a value to the memories !

For the next an hour or so, I did not speak much - was just looking out of the window to enjoy the last few moments of the view that would be completely transformed on my next visit. That was also my last homage to my companions all these years on NH15. 

Life goes on !