Arvind Kejriwal

THE POLITICS OF GRABS

A silver line is now visible in the dark clouds of politics. All eyes are on New Delhi and the Aam Aadmi Party which has catapulted the expectations of the common people. AAP is seen as the magic wand to wave away a plethora of ills sowed by seeds of corruption. Though Arvind Kejriwal himself has said that he does not have a magic wand the general supporter of AAP dismisses this as humility on the part of their leader.

For decades and decades now the decadent levels of political parties have been exposed and many have steeped to abhorrent scum levels and mega scams. Major cover-ups and cheap exposures / sting ops have’nt singed their thick hides. In fact, the sinister levels to hide and plant a scapegoat to side track has been mastered by all these National Parties. This aspect has also petered down to prestigious big Institutions which holds our Nations name with honour.  In no small measure have been the league of regional start up parties which have whipped up parochial and petty local issues to score some point or other over rivals who almost measure up to their own “standard”.

Any meeting with a mainstream MLA / Minister is fraught with barricades of multifarious levels. And here is where “help” is available to lower the layers of difficulties. A straightforward solution to any civic issue will not be allowed to be addressed unless it is “processed” by “layers” who come in different forms. The common law abiding citizen is not the one who requires governmental clearances to start an industry / Building project/ medical college / school / hospital /  or any such activity requiring high capital investments. He may just about require sanctions for setting up a shop / build a home/ get a birth certificate or some clearances to secure a home loan etc etc. And it is in this sphere of common activity that corruption has spread its tentacles. The octopic grip of corruption has spread all over the Country that it has now been institutionalized.

When a common law abiding citizen gets to think that paying some money under the table for a legitimate service that should be available free is really OK….it is sowing the seed of decay from which will spring the creeper entwining the entire system into a trapping climb where vice and more vice will psyche the person to be thinking that it is perfect to be corrupt. To address this malady will be an acid test for AAP but with support from the masses and the thundering intone of rhetoric conveyed in no uncertain terms…..the corrupt New Delhi bureaucracy has to wake up right now.

AAP and Arvind Kejriwal  couldn’t have come at a much better time than now.  While Anna Hazare’s mass movement was the springboard for spear heading AAP the shine/appeal of Anna has terribly worn off on the general masses seeing him rub shoulders with BJP and being quite patronizing to Rahul Gandhi. In fact, Anna Hazare is now seen as a disturbed and irritated person because Arvind Kejriwal is making all the right noises!  

The culture of grabs which is inculcated into a Councilor/ MLA/ / Minister has to be eradicated. The feeling of greatness with trappings of big cars / house / guards / paid hangers on/  can only be curtailed with denial of luxurious facilities. And being a servant of the electorate rather than treating them as servants has to come within. A mega transformation is the call of the day. AAP can do it.

The AAP has a real tough time ahead…it has to prove to do…rather than what it can do. So far it has always been….I / we will do. Time is short and AAP will be a flash in the pan if it cannot do. Even if AAP delivers just 50 % of its manifesto promises…..it will be a great going.

Ajit Lakshmiratan

a collage photo

The Golden Quadrilateral -- A drive on the quadrilateral

Many of us cherish memories of a long bygone trip for life. And memories of these trips egged me on to do a trip, I always wanted to do. Having a penchant for driving, I toyed with the idea of making a round trip of  the Golden Quadrilateral Highway which connects all the major cities of India.

And quite a few well meaning detractors came my way in the planning stage itself…..the drive will be monotonous…pot holes all the way…..highway robberies…..lawlessness in certain States and road rage murders…adulterated fuel….a whole spectra of dicey imaginations were planted on my mind! And the most ludicrous being that your car colour blends with the asphalt on the road….and you will not be easily visible by others!! Should I or should I not…dogged me for a few weeks! But, as one who always wanted to bike it all over the country and could’nt do it earlier… going by car now came as a better option!

I then shot off a mail to National Highway Authority of India informing of a plan to do this trip. As expected, they did not reply probably thinking that sponsorship was my intent!!  And like all good RBI ites do, I applied for VOF’s (Visiting Officer's Flat) / THH (Transit Holiday Home) in Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Kanpur, New Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Within a few days, I got a call from  Jaipur confirming my accommodation! A series of confirmations followed from other Centres.

The Golden Quadrilateral highway was the dream of our former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and this road is a dream run which I had, covering the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and back to Karnataka my home state. A drive of 6626 kms in 14 driving days averaging 473 kms per day. This is the Inner Ring Road of India which indeed is a catalyst and facsimile of true Indians transcending barriers of linguistic division but uniting them on camaraderie and unison of thought… an India of our own despite the decadence persisting all over.

While leaving Chennai enroute from Bangalore, I asked a police constable whether the highway would go to Kolkata….and the shocking reply was…Saar..this road will go upto Nellore..”adhukapmram theriyaadhu” (after that I don’t know). But unwittingly, he sent us the message that if we are fumbling in the high way we better ask for directions to nearer towns rather than big cities….Reminds me of the trying times of getting out of Kolkata City…with so many exits in different directions…and all the exits from any town or city were early mornings….and each guy would tell the route we would “prefer” to take…Many a time after taking advise of well meaning pedestrians we had to backtrack the same way for many kilometers.

Ninety percent of the National Highway on the Quadrilateral was smooth and good. It has its bad share of sharp curves and we did see accidents happening in points where “accident zone” signages were erected. Many of such signages were erected quite close to dangerous turns…and probably could have been positioned 200 metres before. I have taken some photos of such locations and will be sendingthe Highway Authorities …but whether they discard to dustbin …I don’t have an idea!

In each and every State we passed through, the people were very friendly and helpful… be it in locating a Diesel pump or an ATM or even a decent hotel. Though we had a GPS it was fun to interact with the locals. Bhubaneswar VOF is very nice and comfortable situated just a stone’s throw away from the Highway. Not only was the  quarters very beautiful it also housed some wonderful friends.  The Kolkata VOF at Salt Lake City was also very comfortable with an efficient team managing the catering. The sight seeing in Kolkata was by taxi while my car got a good water wash in the quarters. I could not get to meet my RBI friends as they were on a holiday.

The drive from Kolkata to Kanpur was a very long run so we halted at Aurangabad (Bihar) after doing 560 kms. This stretch has very few tolls and the road too was not good in patches. We halted at a good hotel  which was recommended by the local Police. This small town is hardly frequented by any and had people moving around with guns slung on their shoulder. While taking a walk in the late evening noticed that people generally cover their whole face with woolen shawls! Asking them where the cyber parlour / internet shop is located , I realized was more of a problem.

Early next morning, refreshed we left for Kanpur which was 600 kms away. Lunch at a Dhaba in noon and a halt for tea saw us in Kanpur late afternoon. The VOF in Kanpur was really wonderful and also made much better by my friend  who arranged a driver for local sight seeing. After a two day halt we left for Agra where I had booked a hotel through Travelguru.com . It is advisable to book hotels through Tripadvisor, Makemytrip.com or Travelguru as you get big discounts on fixed tariffs.

In Agra, it was just the Taj and the Fort as the rain, chill and dense fog deterred our onward journey to New Delhi. In the absence of VOF confirmation from New Delhi  and a nasty Yamuna Expressway accident highlighted on TV we rescheduled our plan and left for Jaipur skipping New Delhi.

This drive to Jaipur I would surely like to forget ……Leaving Agra at 8 am after the fog had cleared partially and hardly having driven about 15 kms when we were enveloped with thick clouds of fog. I could’nt even make out the asphalt of the road. When visibility came to almost zero, I parked and we had the packed breakfast. I put on the hazard lamp and headlights hoping that none would crash into the car. When the fog cleared a little bit, I started tailing an Innova taxi who was going at about 20 kms per hour. I soon realized following a silver or white coloured car even though slow is fraught with greater risk. If the car ahead does’nt put on the hazard or rear fog lamps….u realize that you banged the car only after banging!!  Though most drivers  use hazard blinkers the distance judgment gets skewed in shifting fog. Some lessons are learnt late in life and this was one of them. A big relief came when an olive green colour Army bus carrying school children to Bharatpur Sanctuary passed by and I happily tagged on to him for the next 70 kms at 25 kms an hour! The driver of the bus got fed up of giving me side to pass and I hugged on to him as an elder brother….and thanked him profusely when he stopped at Bharatpur!

A little later the Sun showed up and from then on upto Jaipur was just a matter of hours, the highway being one of the best. The City of Jaipur and its VOF in Gandhinagar stand out tall. Not only do they have a very comfortable VOF my friends  took real pains to ensure our comfort just like my pals in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. I need’nt explain how beautiful Jaipur is.  An extension of this beautiful City was the next halt …Udaipur. 

A city teeming with lakes and palaces was a great delight. The VOF here is attached to Hotel Gorbandh. The hotel is comfortable and its minor drawbacks are amply compensated by the friendliness of staff, the food and their helpfulness. I do rate this hotel much better than some of our VOF’s.  

As we had skipped New Delhi our onward bookings at VOF’s / THH needed to be preponed by 3 days but with the mobiles and applications of today such rescheduling was possible. Our special thanks to all my friends who enabled the preponement.  It is the wonderful nature of people and scores of unsung people in States across our vast nation which make life a wholesome experience.

Gujarat experience was excellent. The drive to Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad was a pleasant one. Broad roads and the greenery either side was pleasing to the eye. The expressway connecting Ahmedabad to Vadodara (90Kms) was very good and a very safe. But within an hour you reach Bharuch and then crawl at snails pace at the tollway…Miles and miles of trucks and buses ahead….slows you down for hours on end. It took two hours for just 5 kms….and at the end of it…. noticed that the 10 rupee toll collection was the cause for delay. While I paid the exact change…yes, yes exact change at each and every Toll Plaza throughout India (Rs 4074) I did get to feel that lower denomination notes should have been available to such Toll Plazas which just cause a huge and tremendous waste of precious resources like fuel. In many States, the Toll plazas collect varying amounts and are not rounded. The tolls collecting Rs 21 / 47 / 66/ were the ones which had a maximum queue and round amount collecting Toll Plazas had, hardly anybody. One driver ahead in such a toll plaza threw the chocolates on the cashiers face and left.  In Himmatnagar – Ahmedabad Toll Plaza ( Rs 35) the staff are ready with biscuit packets having an MRP of  Rs 5 as change! We also observed Chocolate delivery vans depositing crates and crates in toll plazas. I also wish that I had a roof top camera to record all these!  Why would a Toll plaza require cartons of chocolates if it is not for returning change which is rampant all over India now?  

Having said that…I must also appreciate the ingenuity of people cashing in on  such Toll Plaza’s non availability of change and the resultant  gridlocked traffic queue, a profession …by selling pea nuts / cucumber / papaya / chikkis etc. In fact we enjoyed giving them some business!

India is so beautiful with its diverse variations and cultural patterns uniting and binding us as Indians. The experience of this travel circumnavigating …towns/ cities in …States starts from ordering a tea in a hotel. The nuances and friendly disposition of people all over India left us in awe.  Whether it was at the banks of the Ganga in overcrowded Allahabad / Varanasi during the Kumbh  Mela to the desolate shanty town in Jharkand the people were friendly. Having a GPS but asking for directions is also nice because of the interaction. You finding the right direction is direction enough of their simple motto of helpfulness.

NHAI authorities mention that the distance for the Golden Quadrilateral be under 6000 km we clocked 6626 kms home to home! And this was just a run on the Inner Ring Road of India. I do plan a run on the outer ring road of India which will include the NE states, J&K, Kerala and Kanyakumari. That will surely be a test of endurance.

This write up would not be complete if I do not acknowledge my wife Ramola who was my navigator cum photographer, the Mahindra Scorpio whose bonnet I never opened even once, …whose tyres never squealed or punctured.  My grateful thanks to RBI for the facility of VOF’s and of course the staff and officers of RBI who made this trip wonderful.

Ajit Lakshmiratan 

Interesting Trivia

·        No of Tolls passed:                                    84

·        Total Toll Paid            :                              Rs 4074

·        No. of refueling stops:                               14

·        Diesel filled:                                              580.22 Lts

·        Diesel used:                                               540 Lts

·        Average Consumption:                             12.27 Km PL

·        Halts in VOF:                                            7

·        Halts in Hotels / with Friends                   5  &   2

·        Big Towns /Cities covered:                      69

·        Distance covered:                                    6626 Kms

·        No of driving days:                                  14

·        Average hrs per day:                               6.57 Hrs

·        Average per day:                                     473 Kms

·        Punctures:                                                Nil

·        Bonnet openings:                                     Nil

·        Car:      (KA-03 MP 958)                        Mahindra Scorpio MHawk

·        Duration of trip:                                      16/1/13  to  12/2/13

(You can see photos of the trip which are being uploaded few at a time on my Facebook profile)

		Tolls on the Golden Quadrilateral          Bangalore to Bangalore
Sl No.	Date	Name of Toll Plaza	Time	Amount
1	16-Jan	Krishnagiri	8.08	50
2	16-Jan	Vaniyambadi	8.48	65
3	16-Jan	Pallikonda	10.21	65
4	16-Jan	Chennasamudram	n/a	25
5	16-Jan	Rajiv Gandhi Salai	13.42	20
6	16-Jan	Rajiv Gandhi Salai	18.07	20
7	19-Jan	Tada Tollway	7.49	39
8	19-Jan	Swarna Tollway	9.11	50
9	19-Jan	Swarna Tollway	9.39	30
10	19-Jan	Swarna Tollway	10.07	25
11	19-Jan	Simhapuri Expressway	10.54	40
12	19-Jan	Simhapuri Expressway	11.57	60
13	19-Jan	Simhapuri Expressway	12.54	60
14	19-Jan	Vijayawada Tollway	14.31	73
15	19-Jan	Potipudu Tollway	16.01	15
16	19-Jan	Kalaparu Tollway	16.27	15
17	19-Jan	Tanuku	17.33	65
18	20-Jan	Kvaram Toll Plaza	10.26	55
19	20-Jan	Vempadu Toll	11.21	55
20	20-Jan	AGNMPUDI Toll	12.17	15
21	24-Jan	Nathvalsa Toll	8.21	25
22	24-Jan	Chillakapalam Toll	n/a	35
23	24-Jan	Madapam Toll	9.21	40
24	24-Jan	Lakshmipuram Toll	10.28	50
25	24-Jan	Belupada Toll	11.22	45
26	24-Jan	Gangapada Toll	13.36	55
27	26-Jan	Mahugul Toll	7.41	60
28	26-Jan	Baramulla Toll	12.12	45
29	26-Jan	Vidyasagar Setu Toll	13.39	10
30	26-Jan	Laxmannath Toll	n/a	45
31	28-Jan	Vidyasagar Setu Toll	8.23	10
32	28-Jan	Gorhar to Baramadda Toll	13.37	70
33	28-Jan	Rasoiya Dhamne Toll Plaza	15.09	60
34	28-Jan	Skylark Securitas Toll	15.56	40
35	29-Jan	Sasaram Toll	8.23	85
36	29-Jan	Mohania Toll	9.05	35
37	29-Jan	Dhaffi Toll	9.58	50
38	29-Jan	Lalanagar Plaza	10.46	45
39	29-Jan	Sujaula Toll, Allahabad by pass	11.58	150
40	29-Jan	Katoghan Toll	13.39	35
41	29-Jan	Chitura Toll Plaza	14.28	50
42	29-Jan	Purnamer Toll Plaza	15.03	75
43	1-Feb	Anantram-Auraiya Toll	10.29	55
44	1-Feb	Sikandra Toll	n/a	40
45	1-Feb	Semra Athikbad Toll	n/a	60
46	1-Feb	Tunola Toll	12.57	25
47	3-Feb	Korai Toll Plaza (Bharatpur)	9.25	40
48	3-Feb	Ludhawai Toll Plaza	10.13	50
49	3-Feb	Sikandara Toll Jaipur	11.36	50
50	3-Feb	Rajadhok Toll Plaza	12.39	50
51	5-Feb	Jaipur Toll Plaza	9.18	85
52	5-Feb	Beawar Plaza	11.53	25
53	5-Feb	Gomti Plaza	13.02	25
54	7-Feb	Vantada Toll	88.15	30
55	7-Feb	Paduna toll Plaza	n/a	40
56	7-Feb	Khandiobari Toll	10.05	25
57	7-Feb	Himmatnagar Toll	12.15	25
58	8-Feb	Ahmedabad Toll	6.59	80
59	8-Feb	Vadodra-Bharuch tollway	8.42	80
60	8-Feb	Zadeswar Chowk toll	9.41	20
61	8-Feb	Choryasi Toll	10.39	60
62	8-Feb	Boriach Toll	11.22	49
63	8-Feb	Bhagvadya Toll	12.38	56
64	8-Feb	Charoti Toll plaza	13.34	51
65	8-Feb	Khaniwada Toll Plaza	13.59	56
66	8-Feb	MDP Toll	14.32	30
67	10-Feb	MDP Toll	10.41	30
68	10-Feb	Khalapur Toll plaza	15.12	165
69	10-Feb	Talegaon Toll Plaza	15.54	99
70	11-Feb	Khedshivpur Toll	10.38	70
71	11-Feb	Anewadi Toll	11.28	50
72	11-Feb	Taswade Toll	12.22	62
73	11-Feb	Kini Toll	13.31	62
74	11-Feb	Kognoli Toll	14.13	30
75	11-Feb	Hatargi Toll	14.41	20
76	11-Feb	Belgaum-Dharwar Tollway	15.31	70
77	11-Feb	Nandi Highway (Byepass)	n/a	41
78	12-Feb	MEP Bankapur Toll	8.51	50
79	12-Feb	Chalageri Toll Plaza	9.32	60
80	12-Feb	Hebbalu Toll	10.1	65
81	12-Feb	Guilalu Toll Plaza	11.16	50
82	12-Feb	Karjinvanhalli Toll	12.17	50
83	12-Feb	JAS Toll Nelamangala	13.12	16
84	12-Feb	NBTPL Toll	13.34	20
		Total Toll paid		Rs.4074
		All toll receipts are preserved.