Mumbai: Motoring body holds meeting same time and place after 100 years

(From left) Nitin Dossa, Shekhar Channe and Viveck Goenka at the WIAA meeting. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Every fairytale begins with once upon a time but this story starts with - 100 years ago the Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) held its first meeting at the Taj Mahal hotel in Colaba in their Ballroom. The date of that meeting was October 15, 1919. Hundred years later, yesterday (October 15), they held a meeting at the same time and same place.

Nostalgia in the air

You could feel the sense of occasion and smell history in the air, as Nitin Dossa, WIAA chairman, started speaking. "It is great to be here, at this historic point in time for WIAA." Though the event was quite nostalgic, all speakers touched upon contemporary issues as well. Dossa said, "The RTO and the WIAA are in an arranged marriage. Both cannot do without each other. The WIAA supports the heavy fines imposed on traffic rule violators as part of the new Motor Vehicle Act. These are necessary if we are to bring down accident rates. When we were younger, the sight of a traffic constable would scare us. Today, youngsters aren't afraid. They can even shell out Rs20,000 for a violation. That is why parents should be penalised if their wards drive without a license or break rules." Though the WIAA was celebrating the past, president of the club, Viveck Goenka gave everyone a glimpse of the future saying, "The automobile industry will retain its place of importance but it might not be the same for car ownership." He further said, "Sadly India still has the distinction of having the highest number of road fatalities. This must change."

The WIAA office in 1919. Now it is located at the Indian Merchants Chamber building in Churchgate

City roads, fatalities

Meanwhile, state transport commissioner, Shekhar Channe, who was the chief guest, said to much amusement, "I came to Mumbai from Amravati in 1995. I told my wife that I wished to be a member of the WIAA club. She said, 'why do you want to become a member? All they do at clubs is play cards!'" Channe further said that the electric vehicle revolution was here. "I saw an electric car while coming here. We have a charging station at the Mantralaya. In the future, driverless cars will be in the mainstream. There will be no drivers and no ownership, so no headache." Channe said the first minutes of the 1919 WIAA meet had on its agenda, "the condition of Mumbai roads. A century later, we are still discussing that. This shows that not everything changes."

The minutes of the first ever WIAA meeting (left) and a news report about the association

Speaking about the state's road fatalities, the commissioner said that statistics speak, as 13,500 people have died due to road accidents and 15,000 others were injured in 2018. "We are trying to bring these figures down. We have reduced it by 4 per cent, but the numbers are still not encouraging. We want to bring it down by 10 per cent." He concluded by saying that the focus of the new Motor Vehicle Act was on hiking fines but new facilities like "you can register your vehicle at any RTO in the state, are not being highlighted."

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