Scraps Stuffs - Random musings from apun ka desh

I have noticed that auto-rickshaws that have "Please don't pollute the air" painted on the back are generally the worst offenders when it comes to pollution :-D Must be all the kerosene that they mix with petrol. So it would be great if all the 71,000 auto-rickshaw's in Bangalore switch to running on LPG. They pay 190 bucks or so for a cylinder that lasts them from 220 kms. to 230 kms. depending on the condition of the auto-rickshaw. One cylinder typically lasts two days and they spend half the cost in petrol. Savings straight away, in addition to considerably reducing the pollution. The initial up-front costs of about 18,000 to 22,000 bucks per auto-rickshaw is indeed steep for them and this needs to be addressed either through government/bank loans or some other means. Compulsary switching over to LPGs is a must as is switching to a completely electronic meter to prevent customers from getting swindled. After all, not everyone wants to argue with the auto-rickshaw guy over a rigged meter.

Tuesday was a lovely day in Bangalore if you like driving. Very few traffic jams and pileups. The reason was that the auto-rickshaws were on strike. I wish they go on strike everyday, whatever their reasons for doing so :-)

One-way roads scream third-world to me. Way too many vehicles on the road and way too many narrow roads equals congestion. And one of the easiest ways (and the most third wordly) is to impose one ways. The way this is done in Bangalore seems very random. Initially there is a lot of confusion and traffic piles up at those locations where the one way is imposed. Then over a period of time, the traffic congestions eases at that point, only to arise someplace else. No one seems to be addressing the basic problem - the public transport system is so pathetic that people prefer to use personal transportation to get from one place to another. The roads can't take this load. Cops are non-existent to direct the traffic flow, or if they exist, are incompetent and just plain lazy, both intellectually and otherwise. The whole situation seems hopeless. The only way out that I can see is to improve the public transportation system ASAP. Create more parking spaces so that vehicles aren't parked on already narrow streets. Crack the whip on recalcitrant auto-rickshaw drivers and put some sense of discipline into them. Enforce traffic laws so that blatant signal jumping is judged harshly and stiff fines imposed. Enforce lane discipline. These are the basics that any non third world system should have in place. Any wonder that Bangalore's traffic system is a nightmare to residents, what to speak of visitors!

Airtel in Bangalore (and probably Karnataka too) has started pushing location names for their GSM service. So whenever I'm in M G Road it displays M G Road on my cell phone and similarly for other places I happen to visit. I'm not sure if I'm entirely comfortable with this level of tracking and the implications for privacy. The next step could be advertisements pushed to my cell phone based on my location. I sure don't want to see an advertisement for Deepam Silks when I'm on M G Road :-)

I saw an ad in the Times of India today morning that said that Karnataka's CM was claiming credit for having good roads in the state. The claim made was that roads in the state are very good, as good as Bangalore's road. I almost bust a gut laughing :-D Roads in Bangalore are pathetic. Even the so-called prestigious roads are not smooth and invariably have rough patches, dug-up sections and potholes. If other roads in the rest of the state are as "good" as Bangalore's roads, then I truly feel for the people using those roads.

If you see a traffic jam in Bangalore, or simply a very long queue at a traffic signal, you know that the traffic lights aren't working (power failure or deliberate switch off) and the traffic cops are in charge :-) My belief is that even if the cops disappear, no one will notice.

Spent 45 minutes in traffic before reaching home last evening. It was a bloody nightmare. One BMTC bus has its axle broken on Hosur road and traffic was badly affected all along Residency road, Richmond road, etc. In addition to that roads are dug up and that narrows Bangalore's infamously narrow roads further. Add to that the one way system in place at many roads and you have a perfect recipe for road rage - which I saw in plenty and indulged in some of it myself. Not something that I'm proud of. Which brings me to the stupidity of having just 6.7 kms of the proposed Bangalore metro system underground. The rest of the 33 kms will consist of ground level and elevated sections. This will further decrease usuable road space. And judging by the speed at which things happen in Bangalore (people are laid back here and don't give a damn about how long they have to put up with nonsense) it will be atleast five years from start of construction to first operation. In that time space, there will be no usable metro and decreased usable road space. And idiots here want to make Bangalore into a Singapore :-(

Ok sales tax rolled back for some items. Must be election year compromises. Petrol prices also not increased as of now. But we still pay the highest prices for petrol in the country :-(