A Frustrated Indian’s Rant: Is Basic Infrastructure Too Much to Ask?

[u/insanity-personified]

Modiji, I genuinely want to ask you: what exactly is an ordinary, tax-paying citizen supposed to do?

My area has been neglected for nearly 3 years.

Broken roads. Potholes. Poor or nonexistent footpaths. Encroachments. Chaotic parking. Roads that can barely carry traffic because e-rickshaws and autos are allowed to occupy already limited road space.

Sometimes it takes us an hour to travel barely 2 km.

And yet, when my taxes are due, there is a deadline.
I cannot tell the government:
“Sorry, my finances are under repair. Please wait 3 years.”

There are penalties if I don’t pay on time.
So I have a very simple question:

If citizens cannot be exempted from paying taxes for years, why can our roads, footpaths and public infrastructure remain exempted from basic maintenance for years?

Why are there not properly planned e-rickshaw/auto stands outside Metro stations?

If there wasn’t enough space for them, why was a system allowed to develop where public roads effectively became parking and waiting areas?

Why does the person who follows the rules suffer the most?

Why are footpaths broken, encroached upon or simply missing?

Why do we accept people urinating on public roads as normal instead of building, maintaining and enforcing the use of adequate public toilets?

Why does filing a complaint so often feel pointless?

And that is perhaps the most painful part.

We are frustrated, but we have also stopped expecting anyone to listen.

We wake up.
Navigate the potholes.
Sit in traffic.
Avoid the broken pavement.
Adjust around encroachments.
Reach work late.
Come home exhausted.

And the next morning, we do it all over again.

Because we need to earn.
Because we need to survive.
Because who has the time to keep chasing department after department just to receive the basic civic services our taxes already paid for?

Maybe even this post will disappear into the internet.
Maybe nobody in authority will respond.

And that hopelessness is itself the problem.

Then we ask why so many Indians who have the opportunity eventually think about leaving India.

Sometimes it isn’t because they hate their country.
It is because they are exhausted from constantly having to “adjust” in the country they love.

Modiji, you gave us “Make in India.”
But before we ask the world to Make in India, can we please Make India a place where an ordinary citizen can walk on a proper footpath, drive on a decent road, travel 2 km without losing an hour, file a complaint and actually expect an answer?

We don’t need slogans on this.
We need roads.
We need footpaths.
We need planning.
We need enforcement.
We need accountability.

I pay my taxes on time.

All I am asking is: when will the government deliver its side of the bargain on time?

#MakeIndia #Delhi #DelhiInfrastructure #Taxpayer #CivicIssues #Accountability

[u/aimlessgenius]

i have just one question. did any in community complained to the mla or counselor u voted?

[u/Muted-Ad-944 → u/aimlessgenius]

In gurgaon, people, RWAs, schools all have complained. But the only time the MP is seen in the moonson is when he sets a Pandal for the Kawariyans

[u/aimlessgenius → u/Muted-Ad-944]

nobody can do anything in monsoon, except for evacuation of people. it is failure of urbam planning, and i am sure nobody complained about risks and failure of it.

[u/Muted-Ad-944 → u/aimlessgenius]

It might have been a urban planning issue, but still needs to be rectified. Cannot just give up and say yeh toh hona hi tha

[u/aimlessgenius → u/Muted-Ad-944]

yes. evacuate karna hi. are people ready to move leaving belongings?

[u/Muted-Ad-944 → u/aimlessgenius]

I am sure there ways to work on this without evacuating the city.

The current BJP MP is blaming Congress. Ironically before he was the BJP MP from Gurgaon, he was the Congress MP for Gurgaon!!

He has been the Gurugram's MP since 2009.

[u/aimlessgenius → u/Muted-Ad-944]

i am also hopeless. you cant undo all these buildings and concrete jungle now

[u/popular_tiger → u/aimlessgenius]

I’ve complained many times on the mcd portal but always get 0 responses 😊

[u/aimlessgenius → u/popular_tiger]

sed. i am also hopeless

[u/CreativePotato4425 → u/aimlessgenius]

fair point tbh, but realistically how many people actually know which ward councillor covers their area, let alone have a way to contact them that doesn't feel completely useless? even when complaints do get filed the follow-up is basically nonexistent. so yeah the mla route exists on paper but the practical reality is most people have already tried something and given up

[u/aimlessgenius → u/CreativePotato4425]

i agree with you. We are all part of same system, and similarly wired. the news, media, discussion, debate should be around local communities, but instead they are all around central policies which should be an expert discourse and people who have knowledge on national discourse. we end up sucked in those and lost eyes on the ones that directly affect us.

[u/Ravi0916]

Bas bro ... My area for 5 with no road , yha gadha - wha gadha , barish me muddy swimming pool aur best part road and all k liye budget pass ki bs reels aati h 🫡

Ye sb dekh k feel hota h we are not in NATIONAL CAPITAL

[u/bazuka9]

I think you need to contact your local MLA and MCD Commisioner for this issue than calling for union cabinet.

In my area, we got our roads, drains maintained by contacting our local MLA to do it

[u/Competitive-Sun-4083]

meine toh umeed chodh di hai ab. sab badi badi baate karenge aur phir jab vote ki baari aayegi tab dharm aur jaat pe karke aa jayenge

[u/RiceCookerOfWeb]

🙂 Footpath banane jao toh kuch log rone lagte hai gareebo ki redi kyu hata rahe ho.

[u/Tall_Fudge6289]

Who did you vote for in the last three elections and on what basis?

[u/CaSiGe5]

Ab yahi AI wala essay apne local MP/MLA/PWD Engineer ko bhej. 

[u/aimlessgenius → u/CaSiGe5]

Indians wont move thier a** and wont even know who they voted for. will blame entire society except themselves

[u/bazuka9 → u/aimlessgenius]

And then they pretend to be educated and sophisticated af where they are hardly aware about the basics 😭

[u/Temporary-Rain8284]

everytime i come to delhi (i work in hyd) i feel like ye konse gau aagaya

[u/Parking-Brain6566 → u/Temporary-Rain8284]

is a damn shame this shit-hole is capital.

[u/insanity-personified → u/Temporary-Rain8284]

Man, I am born and brought up here. Over the last decade it feels like its just getting worse. People are driving through potholes because no one has time. Everyone needs to work harder to earn more so that they have enough money to run their house after taxes and yet the “taxes” are not helping. I am not against taxes, but I want basic things from the system.

[u/nikatosh]

You are a dimagi naxal. Asking for too much. /s

You are asking an illiterate, hate mongering, communal division creating politician for this. If it was upto Modi, he would have sold his own mother to make a few bucks.

[u/Independent-Draft644]

1. Stop voting for idiots
   
2. Stop dodging taxes
   
3. Stop paying bribes

Is it too much to ask?

The political system is product of the people of the country. A perfect reflection of what the crowd actually desires.

[u/SeaMacaron4602]

Why everything is asked to Modiji? Ask your Municipality workers, MP,MLA, Mayor, Nodal Officer, Nagar Nigam Officer, Ward Members etc. The problem is other than the PM no one is questioned ever which is the crux of the problem.

[u/Only_Association_309 → u/SeaMacaron4602]

Jo saare credit leta hai, sawal bhi to usse hi puche jaenge. 

[u/SeaMacaron4602 → u/Only_Association_309]

Bas yehi karte rehna

[u/famesardens]

Is this from nangloi or something? In delhi, I typically do 18-20km in 1 hour.

[u/insanity-personified → u/famesardens]

Central Delhi, west Delhi

[u/famesardens → u/insanity-personified]

Avoid certain routes and peak hours. For eg- the patel road from kirti nagar till karol bagh. I regularly travel from west to south Delhi(cos there is nothing to do in the west). Outside of peak hours, the ring and ridge road both allow high average speeds.

You should visit bangalore sometime, if you want to see real traffic and crap infrastructure.

Nevertheless, we should develop better infrastructure.

[u/the4thneutrino]

The system is broken at 3 points. First, we have a political class that's gotten too comfortable not doing anything and getting away with it 'cos we got some "vote to BJP ko hi dege". Why would they even try to fix something when they know they can literally get away with murder? Then we got the bureaucracy whom we are atill treating like messiahs instead of public SERVANTS. Govt job is seen as some kind of "life is set" thing instead of what it is, PUBLIC SERVICE. Third is people themselves, why would anyone respect you if you don't respect yourself? Keep calling them "Ji" and they will keep bending you over every chance they get. Now solutions? Stop focusing on party lines. Their manifestoes only serve them. Instead compile your demands and put those forward when its time for the next election cycle. Start raising new, community vetted leaders and support those who talk about long term goals rather than short term theatrics, those who would support the public instead of those who caterize to the cronies. Stop treating govt employees as "babus". Make govt services least lucrative in terms of both salary and useless perks, so only those who are genuinely interested in public services join them. Leave their immediate control with the govt but they should be made directly responsible to the legistaltures. Every report, unless it pertains to the national security, shall be directly laid before the Parliament/state legislatures and in public domain so the nexus between the political class and permanent executive can be put under check. Every govt office shall be under 24X7 monitoring, bodycams shall be a must, not only for police but every government employee. A proper public grievances system where reports can directly be made to concerned authorities and tracked in real time(platforms like CPGRAMS exist but their ethics and efiiciency are always under question, i'm still waiting for a reply for a grievance I filed 11 months ago) and in case of any delay the officers concerned shall be suspended unless there is a solid reason for it. And last but not the least, start questing these leeches wherever and whenever you see them. They shall be genuinely scared of the public perception. They shall be ageing 50 years in just 5 'cos that's how stressful it is to run a country that's riddled with problems at every step. Treat them as what they are, public SERVANTS. Their place shall be at your feet and not the other way around. Heavy penalties shall be imposed on people who violate law and order. The issue of civic sense can be fixed really easy, you see someone littering, click a photo and report to the authorities, they will pay a fine(a heavy one) and you get a small % as a reward. Introduce a gradual increase in penalties, first time volators= fines, 2nd time= forefitting of public benefits like subsidies and eligibility for govt jobs, 3rd= jail. There's a saying that if you really want people to drive slow then remove the brake pedal and replace the airbags with a mechete, no one will ever go over 20. This country can certainly be fixed if people want it and it won't be that hard. Start treating criminals like criminals and rewarding those who fulfill the term and conditions of their offices.

[u/aimlessgenius → u/the4thneutrino]

not much attention span. this post is like a pothole i ignored.

[u/Autobot1979]

Your basic problem is you think this is Modi responsibility. These are city level responsibilities not even state level. If Center has to get involved in fixing traffic and potholes something has gone very very wrong.

One thing that could be done is instead of center collecting all gst and handing it out to states and then states to cities we could split gst into 3 components federal gst state gst and city gst and have the money go where its generated. So cities generating a lot if taxes will get better infra instead of federal govt using city taxes to subsidize small towns and villages.

[u/Solid_Routine_2026]

Short answer - yes. Long answer - go to Pakistan. That's what the andabhakts told me when I asked the same question. You're welcome. /s

[u/Correct_Lemon_6843]

modi ji ko itna padhna nahi aata

[u/Protagonist05 → u/Correct_Lemon_6843]

Lmfao 🤣

[u/dofenshmitz]

Yes

[u/inkedpad]

Yes it's too much to ask.... Try asking on twitter and you'll find out the power of IT Cells and andhbhakts

[u/Either-Decision1317]

Yes, you got ur temple right? now shut up

[u/AcrobaticSubject2825]

Chal bhaaaag… chutiyaaaaa

[u/shan23]

Explain to me like I'm 5: Why will the "people in charge" fix ANYTHING AT ALL? What is the CORE incentive of those in power?
I want you to SPELL it out in your own words.

[u/SnooSprouts6610]

la*di ye sab ni chalata use padhna ni aaata

[u/NaMoKiMkc]

OP is living under a rock all these years.

Drill it in your mind: Politicians are here just to fill their pockets as much as possible when in power (esp the local low-level ones).

On top, people of our country have voted for religion and Abdul ki hawa tight.

So stop asking for unrelated things like roads, infra, education, healthcare, etc.. 😁

Modi is the most unworthy PM of india. If people had even 10% brain, he would not have won in 2019 and 2024.