Indian Roads Thread

[SSridhar]

The Environment clearance comes from Coastal Regulations Zone (CRZ) as the road approaches the port area and also Cooum is affected by tidal actions. At least until October 2010, there was no clearance. In fact the MoEF had even rejected the project in early 2010. I do not know the current status. The PM had already laid the foundation stone in Jan 2009.

[Aditya_V]

Not only that if you are driving on Poonamalee High from Madhuravoyal to Koyabedu, you will centre of road is made of barriers for the Port elevation express way project, one lane of the road is blocked off and traffic chokes, just like Anna Salai and Inner ring road for construction of CHennai Metro.

So did production begin without Jairam Ramesh's ministry clearence, hmmmm

[RonyKJ]

I am starting to think that the whole environmental clearance is a joke. Granted that its original purpose
is great, but our babus and netas as usual have managed to use it as a revenue making tool. I don't
understand how highways have been built through wildlife sanctuaries. Did they not have to seek
environmental clearance ? Or was clearance sought and given ? What about all the elephants that are going to be
mowed down by trucks?

[pgbhat]

Delhi road rage: Pilot gets bail

The incident took place outside Axis Bank in Khan Market at 1.50 p.m., police said. Rajiv Jolly, a resident of Dwarka, manager of the Amici restaurant in Khan Market, was driving a Hyundai which slightly grazed a Ford Ikon being driven by Vikas Aggarwal, a pilot with a private airline.

According to police, Rajiv was driving out of the market while Vikas Agarwal was driving into the market when their cars grazed. "Rajiv, a restaurant manager, stepped outside his car and approached Vikas Agarwal and started giving his explanation, which soon turned into an argument," a police officer said.

"Enraged at Rajiv standing in front of his car, Agarwal hit him once and then repeatedly crushed him under his wheels around four times," the officer said. A police team arrived on the spot and apprehended Agarwal.

Rajiv was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital where he was pronounced dead.

[SSridhar]

Young drivers make motoring on Ooty-Mettupalayam road risky

Pointing out that overtaking at inappropriate places was on the rise despite warning signs being displayed at a number of places, he {the Regional Transport Officer, the Nilgiris D.Venkataraman} said that high speed and poor judgment were a lethal combination. Most of the drivers indulging in such recklessness were tourists who were below 30 years of age.

He lamented that drunken driving was also increasing on the stretch.

To a query, Mr.Venkataraman said that on an average, 1000 to 1500 vehicles used the road everyday. During the summer tourist season, it was more than 10,000.

Stating that only by enhancing awareness can such driving be controlled, Mr. Venkataraman regretted that of late, overtaking on the wrong side not only by motorcyclists but also car drivers was on the rise.

When asked how the risk could be reduced, he said that if the wild bushes on the sides of the road were removed, motorists would have a better chance of averting accidents.

Meanwhile, regular users of the road pointed out that at many places, revetments were broken and railings were missing. This has only increased the chances of inexperienced drivers going off the highway.

Referring to a meeting organised by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) here recently to seek public views on improving the road, road users opined that if long term plans were not put in place soon, the risks would only escalate. Boulders brought down by landslides should be removed without delay, they felt.

[Prasad]

A very strong team of policemen on the route is the only way you can track down idiotic driving. Catch speeders and unlicensed/inebriated drivers. Things will rapidly get better when word gets out. Without strong enforcement, nothing will work no matter how many boards they put up.

[ASPuar]

Sachin and others who are interested in Law and Order issues may find this an interesting case. The media has made a pigs ear out of it. The headlines all blare things like "ROAD RAGE!", and "PILOT RUNS OVER RESTAURANT MANAGER FOR SCRATCHING CAR"...

However, the headlines are conveniently omitting that the car that was scratched belonged to the deceased. Also conveniently omitting that the person who was raging was also, therefore, the deceased. Furthermore omitting to mention that the accused was attempting to escape the thrashing the deceased was meteing out to him.

So. Facts of the case:

1. Pilot accidentally scratches restaurant manager (RM)s car
2. RM bashes up pilot
3. Pilot reverses to escape the punches
4. RM's foot gets caught between car and kerb, he falls, hits his head, and dies
5. Media decides its pilots fault

No mention is made of the fact that it was the deceased who, according to all eyewitness accounts, behaved like a tw@t, instigating a fight. No mention is made of the fact that flight was the natural response of any sane person in the face of such aggression. Bizarre.

Thankfully, the police are not swayed by the media's bullcrap campaign. They have registered cases under 304A and 279, the maximum penalty under which is 2 years and fine (Death due to negligence, and Rash and Negligent Driving), and not under 299 or 300. The facts of the case as reported do not bear out any malfeasance on the part of the pilot. The witnesses have stated that he was attacked by the deceased. He did not take action to retaliate, he merely attempted to escape. If the accused died, because he was in the process of committing an illegal assault, which could theoretically have been punishable under Sections 323 (Causing Hurt), 352 (Perpetration of Assault), and possibly even 325 (Grievous Hurt), it can squarely be considered to be his own fault.

If the facts of the case as reported are true, then the case shouldnt even be brought to trial, and a skilled lawyer will be able to ensure that justice is done.

A forensic report will determine whether the pilot repeatedly drove over the deceased, but eyewitness accounts have ruled it out. Police has to be doubly careful and sure however, as the deceased was a member of a minority community, and the media has raised a storm.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... z1Ayz9CMNP

Road rage: Pilot runs over restaurant manager for scratching car
Dwaipayan Ghosh & Indrani Basu, TNN, Jan 12, 2011

NEW DELHI

In a city that's increasingly on a short fuse, an altercation over a car grazing another in tony Khan Market spun out of control on Tuesday afternoon, causing a death within minutes. A Jet Airways pilot, Vikas Aggarwal (36), driving a Ford Ikon, was reportedly challenged by Rajeev Jolly Wilson (37), a manager with Italian restaurant Amici at the market, after the former's car had brushed past his i10. In the scuffle that ensued and in an attempt to break away, Aggarwal seems to have driven his car over Wilson around 1.40pm.

According to the additional CP (New Delhi) K C Dwivedi, Wilson, coming from the Lodi Garden side, was entering the market from a bylane which branches out towards left from Subramaniam Bharti Marg while Aggarwal was right behind him, intending to go straight. At this juncture, the Ford Ikon seemed to have grazed Wilson's car.

Eyewitnesses claimed that this led to a quarrel between the two. A parking attendant, who claimed to have witnessed the incident but didn't wish to be identified said: "The Ford Ikon touched the i10 car. The i10 driver, Wilson, got extremely angry, stepped out of the car and started abusing and hitting out at the other driver. (This has been denied by Wilson's aunt, Shashi.) Aggarwal remained inside and then suddenly tried to pull away. Wilson's leg got caught between the tyre and footpath and he fell. The car ran over his stomach and he also suffered head injuries due to the fall."

Dwivedi, however, claimed Wilson died as he got stuck between the pavement and the Ikon car leading to severe head and rib injuries to his right. "It seems he fell violently on the sidewalk," said the senior officer. The MLC report, though, clearly suggested that the car had gone over the deceased's right hand and a portion of the body.

Vikas Aggarwal tried to flee from the spot but was cornered by a crowd. In panic, Aggarwal turned right into the parking but realised that he had come the wrong way. Eyewitnesses claimed then he tried reversing but the crowd stopped the car. A PCR van parked nearby then moved in and took him into custody.

Aggarwal has been booked for death due to rash and negligent driving and endangering the life of people through negligent driving under IPC sections 279 and 304(A). These are the normal sections applied for road accidents and are bailable offences. The two cars have been impounded.

However, the cops are reviewing the sequence of events and are open to adding stricter sections if warranted. "We will get the postmortem done on Wednesday by a board of three doctors. The cars will be sent for forensic analysis. The entire scene will be recreated to figure out the exact sequence of events. If we are satisfied that a harsher section is called for, we will use it," said joint commissioner ( New Delhi Range) Dharmendra Kumar.

Kumar denied reports that the accused had tried to reverse in order to flee and had in the process run over Wilson four times. He, however, admitted that Wilson got dragged for over five metres.

Said eyewitness Parmeet Mehta alias Rocket Singh, "There was a huge crowd that had collected next to the two cars and I ran to the spot to find Wilson on the ground, twitching painfully. The crowd was trying to stop the Ford Ikon while Aggarwal was trying to pull away. However, he only managed to go towards the market , then reversed and was caught."

Wilson was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where he was declared brought dead, said the police. Aggarwal was taken to the hospital for an MLC to confirm the injuries on his face.

Sanjeev Mehra, president of Khan Market Association, told TOI: "It is an unfortunate incident as it was a small quarrel that ended with the death of a man. Youngsters today have no patience. We mourn the loss of one of our family members."

Wilson was a resident of Dwarka's Sector 9, Pocket 3, while Vikas is a resident of Dharma Apartments in IP Extension. On Tuesday, Wilson had called up his juniors at Amici cafe and told them he would be a bit late. A staffer at the café said, "Usually he would come to work at noon but today he said he had some work relating to legal matters and would come in a bit late." As it turned out, he never turned up. The cafe was closed for the day.

[Aditya_V]

Young drivers make motoring on Ooty-Mettupalayam road risky

Pointing out that overtaking at inappropriate places was on the rise despite warning signs being displayed at a number of places, he {the Regional Transport Officer, the Nilgiris D.Venkataraman} said that high speed and poor judgment were a lethal combination. Most of the drivers indulging in such recklessness were tourists who were below 30 years of age.

He lamented that drunken driving was also increasing on the stretch.

To a query, Mr.Venkataraman said that on an average, 1000 to 1500 vehicles used the road everyday. During the summer tourist season, it was more than 10,000.

Stating that only by enhancing awareness can such driving be controlled, Mr. Venkataraman regretted that of late, overtaking on the wrong side not only by motorcyclists but also car drivers was on the rise.

When asked how the risk could be reduced, he said that if the wild bushes on the sides of the road were removed, motorists would have a better chance of averting accidents.

Meanwhile, regular users of the road pointed out that at many places, revetments were broken and railings were missing. This has only increased the chances of inexperienced drivers going off the highway.

Referring to a meeting organised by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) here recently to seek public views on improving the road, road users opined that if long term plans were not put in place soon, the risks would only escalate. Boulders brought down by landslides should be removed without delay, they felt.

Anyone else notice this that all the drivers especially the younger guys in TN with CHennai and Highways are full of blood. I noticed this in Hyderabad also.

People are throwing concepts like braking distance etc.. lots of people are going to extreme limits, especially on Highways, even when everybody is going at 100+, drivers want to out do each other and drive on the absolute limit.

[Dileep]

The DMA's finest is on a campaign for lane driving. I will give it a whole week to fizzle out just like any other such campaign.

Still, the response seems to be good by the public.

[SSridhar]

Anyone else notice this that all the drivers especially the younger guys in TN with CHennai and Highways are full of blood. I noticed this in Hyderabad also.

People are throwing concepts like braking distance etc.. lots of people are going to extreme limits, especially on Highways, even when everybody is going at 100+, drivers want to out do each other and drive on the absolute limit.

It is becoming increasingly nightmarish to drive safely in Tamil Nadu. It has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest number of road accidents in the country. In Chennai itself, fatal road accidents have tripled in the last decade, now next only to New Delhi. According to this report of April 2010 for road accidents in circa 2008,

Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka top the list of states in total number of road accidents, injuries and deaths. . .Tamil Nadu alone had the share of 56.6% of the total number of persons getting injured in road accidents.

[Abhijeet]

I really don't understand how people can take such risks with their own lives. I can understand (though not agree with) an attitude of "I don't care about anyone else". But how do people so casually and cheerfully put their own lives in danger on the road every day?

I've seen people casually crossing the road with high speed vehicles bearing down upon them; people walking in the fast lane of a highway with their back to the traffic; slow tempos, cycles and bullock carts driving in the fast lane; cycles and motorbikes driving opposite to the traffic in the fast lane; tiny motorbikes darting in front of buses and trucks with not a care in the world.

It seems to me to violate some basic evolutionary law that so many people are so casual about their own lives. Isn't self-preservation supposed to be the highest priority of any organism?

My theory is that most people are simply unable to coherently do a cost-benefit analysis of their on-road behavior -- weighing the danger of their actions versus the benefit of saving a few seconds. (Sometimes, as in the case of people walking on the road with their back to the traffic, there is no benefit at all to their actions -- they could just as well walk at the side of the road.)

Just yesterday, while taking a U-turn, a cyclist tried to overtake me -- from the right. He timed it so that he passed me right when I was moving into the U-turn, looking the other way since I didn't expect anyone to pass from that side.

I saw him almost in time and just brushed him, luckily, but it could have been worse.

I had been waiting at that spot for a break in the traffic for a few seconds, so he could clearly see me. Yet he could not stop himself from trying to pass me from the wrong side, at the same time that I was about to turn. I honestly wonder whether people like this have any kind of coherent thought process going on, or whether they just do everything by blind instinct.

[Theo_Fidel]

Driving from Katpadi to Salem was really scary in terms of the speeds on the road. Even 200 Kmph is possible. I read somewhere that the NH's are 2% of our roads yet are 30% of our casualties.

The really problem as I saw it is that our vehicular equipment has not kept up. After 60 kmph these things become essential yet are largely absent.

- Disc Brakes, preferably all wheel. The best thing we could do is eliminate all the drum brakes in our country.
- Better Wider tires that are 'not Bald'.
- Seat belts for all. And airbags at least up front. These two items could cut our fatalities by half.
- Better vehicle lighting and signage. The round Bus/Truck headlight that dazzles traffic should be banned immediately. Number one cause of accidents at night.

[SaiK]

ban high beam, and go for angle eye based xenon headlights. besides seat belt safety, more driver education for drunk driving and safe driving is mandatory.

[Bade]

What about the crazy pedestrians on all roads, highways and city streets who dart in and out callously, that even streets dogs would not dare do. Who is going to educate them ?

[Virupaksha]

What about the crazy pedestrians on all roads, highways and city streets who dart in and out callously, that even streets dogs would not dare do. Who is going to educate them ?

create overpass for the vehicles??

[Bade]

Overpasses work for highways, but I swear I have seen people walking on overpasses too on the Coimbatore-Salem stretch.

For city streets good quality pedestrian walkways on both sides of the street with enclosures might work with no guarantees as people still climb over 3-4 ft tall fencing or sneak between barricades.

[Virupaksha]

Overpasses work for highways, but I swear I have seen people walking on overpasses too on the Coimbatore-Salem stretch.

For city streets good quality pedestrian walkways on both sides of the street with enclosures might work with no guarantees as people still climb over 3-4 ft tall fencing or sneak between barricades.

Create overpasses for vehicles on top and let pedestrians walk on ground in city as well???

Any traffic anywhere in India, is it pedestrian friendly? Especially when we have so many pedestrians?

Any vehicles anywhere in India, does it stop for a pedestrian? A pedestrian is also a thinking human being, he sees a hundred times that traffic doesnt stop/ give way when he wants to cross, even if he waits 5 mins. What does he do 101st time, he tries to cross regardless of the traffic stopping.

[Bade]

I am all for pedestrian friendly road designs, but what I saw at least on the highways there tells me pedestrians are also at fault. Traffic was very light, even if average speed was high at 80kmph for Indian standards, with some nuts doing 100+kph in their fancy imported cars.

As mentioned earlier by another poster, people still dart in to the oncoming traffic in singles as well as a flock. Both ways being equally dangerous as there is no safety in numbers either.

[Virupaksha]

I would give you short side story, to give you a picture of how my thought process developed regarding this issue.

We crib about the trash thrown on roads. I was one of them. But when I practiced what I preached, I couldnt find a trash can for kilometers or found those which already overflowed and have not been removed for days altogether when the amount of trash was such that they required hourly removal. I understood the futility of practicing and I stopped completely preaching. When the trashcans are available within reasonable distances and they are cleared regularly, then I will start preaching again. It was then I understood what the aam aadmi was doing, he was trying to live by what was practical, not by some ideology. Make being clean practical and to change the habit, use fines in the short term, the roads will become cleaner in days altogether. But dont expect fines to work, if it is impractical.

We divide a village downright in the middle for the sake of road, so that it goes straight and is cheaper to build. Then we dont provide any friendly crossings, or in the rarest of rare cases, create only one which is half a km away and then crib about pedestrians darting in and out.

For the number of people we have, even the highways have to be pedestrian friendly, but do our(sorry imported) designs cater to it?

Make it practical for a pedestrian to walk and cross, remember for a pedestrian walking 200 mts is not a small amount and have them everywhere so that it can become a habit for them.

Create pedestrain friendly road designs, present roads are downright pedestrian harmful designs. They will work in countries where vehicles are the majority and all the people have access to private vehicles not in India, where 90% of people do not own a car and 70% of people do not own a motorised vehicle.

Edit: Also please note that if in 99 cases a pedestrian HAS to cross the road by walking across the road, he will not be using pedestrian bridge in the 1 case where it exists to go over the road where it increases his distance and tests his stamina by climbing up and down.

[SSridhar]

Vehicles plying on the wrong side flash ominous signs

Vehicles moving on the wrong side of the road over bridge on Chennai Bypass Road. — photo: M. Moorthy; Courtesy: The Hindu

“It is sad that even educated and senior citizens don't hesitate to jump a signal if a policeman is not manning the junction,” police personnel say, calling for an attitudinal change in the motorists.

[SSridhar]

From my experience, I have compiled the following list of why there is so much misery on Indian roads. May be, I posted this before; but, I keep updating it anyway all the time.

• Straddling the lanes
• Two wheelers occupying all the lanes
• Jumping the signal, especially by the state and metropolitan transport buses
• Honking all the time, especially if the car ahead slows down or stops for any reason.
• Travelling in the wrong direction to reduce distance or avoid traffic.
• Narrow widths of lanes
• Parking vehicles on the road itself.
• Lack of knowledge of road signs
• General lack of safety consciousness.
• Potholed roads leading to accidents when two wheelers topple or four wheelers hit others trying to avoid the potholes.
• Passive traffic policemen who themselves lack a sense of traffic rules.
• Poorly engineered roads, with sharp bends and insufficient shoulder.
• Lack of pedestrian facilities, thus pedestrians spilling on to the roads causing accidents. Even when pedestrian overbridges are provided, people prefer to run across the roads braving rushing traffic. Both civic facilities and civic sense are utterly lacking.
• Frequent failures of signals (poor maintenance, electricity disruptions)
• Confusing automatic signals. Unimaginative cost cutting measures leading to confusion. For example, at places where free left turn is allowed, a permanent green light is not included as part of automatic signals. At other places, when a green light for left turn goes off, the vehicle users are expected to assume that they must stop. Instead, a red light must come on to stop users.
• Many trucks are loaded beyond their allowed capacity. Many also carry goods dangerously, like iron rods protruding outside with a torn red cloth at the end as a ‘warning’ and sometimes even that missing.
• More number of people than allowed, travel in many vehicles.
• Ambulances are not given right of way by most vehicle drivers and policemen are apathetic.
• There is no compulsory annual ‘Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection’.
• Trucks, long-distance buses, town buses and mini-buses make unscheduled halts on highways for picking up passengers.
• Villagers use roads as drying yards for agricultural produce.
• At city intersections which have signals with counters, the vehicle drivers become restless as soon as the counter reaches 10 and when it reaches 5, they zoom away even while the signal is red and there could still be vehicles coming from the other side. Those who patiently wait for the green light to appear are cursed and looked at condescendingly.
• All sorts of vehicles (from cycles, bullock carts, tricycles, to cars and trucks) share the same small space.
• Roads are not designed and engineered properly. Many roads are even unsafe to drive in terms of curvature, alignment etc. Broken manhole covers are not replaced leading to accidents.
• Even on National Highways, not enough shoulder, resting places or truck lay-bys are available with the result that vehicles are parked on the roads leading to collisions. To add to the problems, illegal eateries mushroom near these highways without any parking space leaving the vehicles parked on the highway itself. This is especially dangerous in the nights.
• Speed bumps are erected at will and without any warning. There are no markings on the speed bumps themselves.
• While merging into a main road from an alley, two wheel and four wheel drivers think they have the right of way. They do not even look over their shoulder for traffic even as they take a wide turn into the main road.
• Commercial buildings and multi-storied apartments are built without sufficient space for vehicle parking leading to vehicles being parked all over the place and spilling on to roads.
• Vehicles use disallowed and banned accessories, such as air-horns, fancy headlights and tail lamps etc and traffic police take no action. Suddenly a campaign will be announced and for a few days some seizures will be made but the action will then taper off. Somehow, the policemen think that action against such illegalities must be taken only when campaigns are announced and at other times they don’t need to do anything. The police can easily stop these practices by raiding shops that sell these items. One has never heard of such raids.
• Unlicensed automobile workshops sprout all over the place and they use regular residential roads as test tracks for their vehicles.
• Almost all vehicles (two or four wheelers) drive with high beam on even within city limits. Some vehicles, especially autorickshaws and two wheelers drive without lights. Poorly lit roads and lack of medians increase the chances of accidents due to blinding headlights. Most city buses do not have working tail lamps. It is also common to see vehicles with just one working headlamp.
• People travel in goods carriers and these stop on National Highways to pick up villagers. These people also travel perilously on these carriers.
• In the unavoidable situation where a vehicle stops on the road (due to breakdown or accident etc.), they do not turn on hazard lights.
• Political parties do not mind damaging roads to setup ‘welcome arches’ to their leaders or put up banners on the side or on the median that dangerously protrude into the roads or block views or fall on the roads and cause accidents.
• People generally exhibit a tendency of not wanting to learn and apply good and safe driving practices. The standard refrain is if one followed such practices, one will end up in accidents.

[Singha]

Mangalore roads ‘bussing’ with ruthless drivers
Published: Monday, Jan 24, 2011, 9:51 IST
By M Raghuram | Place: Manglore | Agency: DNA

Public transportation has proved to be a menace in Mangalore, terrifying motorists, passengers, and pedestrians alike. The ruthless drivers notorious for rash driving have sounded the death knell of many in the coastal city.

Police commissioner of Mangalore Seemanth Kumar Singh confirmed that the death rates in the Mangalore city police commissionerate limits (17 police stations) are on the rise.

The private bus operators dominate the public transport system in Mangalore city, with about 600 private buses. Though the KSRTC Mangalore division was putting up a brave fight for its share, the transport ministry has laid down arms in front of the private operators.

After the amendment of the Public Transport Act of 1972, due to the issue of easy permits, more single bus owners havecropped up.

The permit holder or the bus owner leases the bus to a bunch of drivers and conductors who work on a daily pay package.

“This has resulted in a mad rush on the roads of Mangalore and Udupi due to which public safety is in jeopardy. We have brought this unhealthy practice to the notice of several ministers and transport commissioners in the past, but no action has been taken so far,” said Hanumanth Kamath, president of the Nagarika Hitarakshana Vedike of Mangalore.

Highlighting the efficiency of the transport system, Bhaskar Salian, president of Canara Bus Owners Association, pointed out, “Our buses run in regular intervals to several locations, both within and outside the city, which is why one does not see any queue or commuters waiting in the bus stands.”

President of People’s Union for Civil Liberties Mangalore chapter PB D’Sa does not agree with Salian.“Efficiency at what cost?” he asked. “At the cost of hundreds of lives? Why does the transport authority act in a way favourable to private bus owners?” he questioned.

“Mangalore and Udupi are the only places in the state where bus owners hand over the bus to unscrupulous drivers and conductors. Whenever the bus is involved in an accident, the crew does a disappearing act and the owners plead helplessness,” RTO authorities reasoned.

Seasoned driver Rajinder Singh Bitta who drives a Volvo truck shared a bitter experience. “I’ve driven in the crowded roads of Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore. But during my first trip to Mangalore, I felt I was going to bein a major accident because the drivers here are rash.”

Even a fire engine squad has a story to tell. Once, a fire engine crew who were on a mission to douse fire was abused by a bus conductor for not letting the bus pass.

Apparently this bus was racing against another bus between Kavoor and Maravoor. Even red beacon cars and ambulances are not spared.

Chairman of the Regional Transport Authority and deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, Subodh Yadav, said, “We are trying to bring several new safety measures. We are plugging in all loopholes the public transport operators have to hoodwink the law. We will start with making it mandatory to fit a GPS (global positioning system) in every public transport vehicle. The second step will be to strictly monitor private buses for the quality of driving,” he added.
m_raghuram@dnaondia.ne

[Sachin]

^^^ Police, and RTO should make a list of the staff and the buses they use. And then in case of accidents book them on the "culpable homicide not amounting to murder" charge. More stricter punishment than the one as per sections in MV Act. This was tried out in Kerala in routes which was notorious for this dangerous driving. Only the thought of sitting inside prison for a long time brought the changes. And never believe the words of the bus owners. They are all hand-in-glove with their staff.

[hnair]

Two SSC posts on new traffic cams recently installed in Trivandrum roads. Translated highlights of malayalam reports by poster ajithv:

On installation et al. Pasting the translated highlights verbatim

* Pleas keep in mind while you drive through the city roads in Trivandrum..City Police here is watching you..
* The city police has installed 12 surveillance cameras at different junctions to nab those who violate the tarffice rules.
* Such cameras will be installed at 15 more locations including General Hospital Jn,Pattoor,Pallimukku,Pettah,Eanchakkal Jn,Peroorkkada,Chacka,Kuravankonam etc soon.
* The home minister inaugurated this system at the Police Control Room by capturing a passenger who didn't wear the seat belt at Palayam..
* The cameras used are capturing the images of the vehicle from three angles including the one with the number palte as soon as the vehicle violates the rule.
* These cameras are efficient to take snaps even at night as they are using Xenon flash lights.
* These cameras will also be used for other crimes like theft eve-teasing etc

Results of first day of operation...

* The survellance cameras "trapped" 93 those vehicles, including 11 KSRTC buses,violated the traffic rules within 12 hrs of its operation in the city..
* Out of these 93 vehicles,85 nos. for violating the Red Signal ,8 nos for Over Speeding.
* Those who violates Red Signals will get a penalty of Rs.500/-,for overspeeding,the penalty will be Rs.400/- from KSRTC buses & other vehicles Rs.300/-

[Dileep]

According to the widespread belief on forums, driving is worse here in DMA compared to the capital. I wonder why the cameras were not installed here instead . Peter is sick and Paul is treated? (കണ്ടച്ചാര്‍ക്കു മുറിഞ്ഞാല്‍, കോരച്ചാര്‍ക്കു ധാര?)

[Sachin]

Dileep, guess the camera system is in "pilot" mode in Tvpm, Kochi would be the next in line. And considering that the out-of-state registered vehicles would be less in Socalist Republic (say compared to Bangalore), law enforcement can be much more stricter, if the police/RTO wishes that way.

[Christopher Sidor]

China gets Gujarat cotton cheaper than TN mills
This is indeed a sad day, when a foreign country can get cotton made in India cheaper ,than an Indian company operating out of India.

Chennai-based Loyal Textiles pays Rs 82,500 to get 150 bales (170 kg each) of cotton from Gujarat, country's top producer, to one of its mills in Tamil Nadu by ship. One of its competitors in China gets the same quantity cotton from Gujarat at Rs 22,500!

The most telling part of the article is

"Truckers demand higher rates since the roads are bad. Mills in South India can get cotton cheaper from North Africa than Gujarat," said Mr D.K. Nair, Secretary-General of Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry.
....
....
Freight charges are highest to Turkey at around Rs 82,000 but still work out cheaper than moving from one Indian port to another or by road. "

So it is cheaper for Indian cotton to go to our competitors rather than going to our own companies. This is down right ridiculous.

[manish]

China gets Gujarat cotton cheaper than TN mills
This is indeed a sad day, when a foreign country can get cotton made in India cheaper ,than an Indian company operating out of India.

Chennai-based Loyal Textiles pays Rs 82,500 to get 150 bales (170 kg each) of cotton from Gujarat, country's top producer, to one of its mills in Tamil Nadu by ship. One of its competitors in China gets the same quantity cotton from Gujarat at Rs 22,500!

The most telling part of the article is

"Truckers demand higher rates since the roads are bad. Mills in South India can get cotton cheaper from North Africa than Gujarat," said Mr D.K. Nair, Secretary-General of Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry.
....
....
Freight charges are highest to Turkey at around Rs 82,000 but still work out cheaper than moving from one Indian port to another or by road. "

So it is cheaper for Indian cotton to go to our competitors rather than going to our own companies. This is down right ridiculous.

This is due to the stupid, protectionist, anti-market cabotage law that prevents foreign flagged (not necessarily foreign owned) vessels from plying in trade between Indian ports.

Anybody trying to repeal this law has to take on the combined might of commanding heights PSUs such as SCI, Poompuhar Shipping, their commie unions and the private India-flagged ship owners' cartel that includes people such as the Ruias of Essar among others.

Good luck doing that.

[Christopher Sidor]

^^^
What I was alluding to was the fact that it is cheaper to transport the cotton via ship then via roads. Roads are pathetic with everybody taking their cut in road construction. Add to this the bribes that truckers have to give to various RTO/Police personnel. For example a truck running between Gujarat and TN has to cross two states Maharashtra and AP/Karnataka. In all of these 4 states, every policeman demands certain greasing of hands. In Maharashtra at each district border, the police seeing a Gujarat Registered truck ask money openly by saying, "it is a Gujarat truck."

It would be more sensible for these trucks and goods containers to travel on flat board trains rather taking the roads, something similar which is being done on konkan railways. But our railways is obviously not interested in this feature.

[SaiK]

when was pandu a patriot? he was made by the brits for the majesty services.

[kmc_chacko]

Isn't Indian Railway has connecting facility between Gujarat & TN

[vera_k]

And even then, can't they export to Sri Lanka and then import into Chennai?

[manish]

And even then, can't they export to Sri Lanka and then import into Chennai?

And pay taxes/duties twice?

It is simple - Coastal Movement of voluminous cargo is the best solution for a country like ours with a staggering 7500km coastline. It is cheaper, more eco-friendly and faster than circumnavigating the less than perfect road network and crossing interstate borders for many (but not all) routes.

This is now slowly beginning to pick up. I recently read about BHEL moving heavy and oversized powerplant eqpt from Trichy to Tripura using coastal shipping for the TN-WB hop - apparently saved them a full two weeks or so by avoiding the long and arduous drive from Trichy to NE by truck.

Good tidings.

[Airavat]

Travel by road to Bhadrachalam from Rajahmundry in Eastern Ghats is a memorable experience

Single lane road??

[Muppalla]

^^^
That was through deep forests. It was once a scary route as naxals used to freely roam there. Thanks for posting the article. As per the article some streches are still single lane used by both sides.

[Christopher Sidor]

^^^
Beautiful picture. I hope it has not been retouched.

[Singha]

A.P as a whole is a vast state but poorly developed tourism potential. rail and road connectivity is good , yet still nothing has happened.

tirupati needs no advertisement so thats a special case. Hyd and "borra caves/araku valley" near vizag and a boat cruise to "godavari gorges" somewhere upstream of rajamundry is all I have read of in 3 yrs of reading outlook traveller mag.

karnataka and kerala have marketed themselves far better.

mysore, blr, nagarhole, bandipur, kabini, hampi, belur, halebidu, coorg, udupi, mangalore, coffee, badami, pattadkal, aihole, bijapur, jungle lodge, shravanabelagola are known to all
similarly wayanad, kochi, ayurveda, spas, triv, kovalam, alleppey, vembanad, coffee, munnar, eravikulam, chinese fishing nets(!), spices are brandnames for kerala
TN has scores of holy religious places like madurai and thiruvanmalai, coimbatore, chennai area, mahabalipuram, rameswaram, k-kumari, ooty, conoor, yercaud, salem, chidambaram, tranqebar, thanjavur....

AP has zero brand recall except tirupati and charminar (and most older people who mistake charminar for a pack of cigarettes!)

AP border from blr is about the same away (and easier) than kerala. but domestic tourists from blr head for kerala:AP probably in a 95:5 ratio.

[Muppalla]

^^^
Absolutely. Inspite of fairly good rail and road connectivity tourism as a brand is not created in AP.

[Sachin]

karnataka and kerala have marketed themselves far better.

If you ask me, this is the only case in which Kerala marketed themselves well. Perhaps it was the case that the natural beauty was already there (no hard work involved), all it required was identifying the areas and then launch a good ad campaign. The people also seems to be happy working in this industry, because of the large number of tourists (from abroad) landing up. Very rarely I have noticed any "revolutionary activities" (harthal/bandh/gherao) happening in this sector.

[Singha]

there is no lack of rich businessmen and industrialists/NRIs in AP either.