Ambulance anguish
ONE of our colleagues was in a taxi the other day, travelling from Mumbai Central to the Parel area. On Nair Hospital Road, an ambulance came racing up in the same direction, with the siren sounding, and our colleague’s taxi driver made way for it. But surprisingly, when the taxi reached Jacob’s Circle, officially Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk, it caught up with the ambulance. Again the driver hung back so the ambulance could go ahead… and guess what, caught up with it again on Arthur Road. It was heading for Dr Ambedkar Road but the attitude of countless other drivers on the road was as if the ambulance was an inconvenience. Far from moving aside to let it go, many drivers tried to get ahead of it and ended up blocking its way.

No surprise then, that the ambulance remained just in front of the taxi all the way to the Bharatmata Cinema junction. There, a traffic policeman took the initiative to stop all other vehicles so the ambulance could make its way ahead.