There are days when nothing seems to go right, or rather when simple things go wrong. This was one such day. Last evening, Rawal had suggested that I drive to Mandi via Kataula, if it rains as I leave Kullu. Or else, I could use the standard NH3. This suggestion was because of intense road construction activity and consequent traffic hold ups. He even said that the Kataula road is more enjoyable because of the views. However, this morning, even though it was drizzling a bit, I decided to take the NH3 as I was familiar with it. That decision almost cost me my life.
Tunnels are being built and NH3 is being widened to four lanes. The construction is certainly warranted and the hills, with such huge influx of men and material, is cracking at its seams. However, a responsible organisation such as the NHAI, which is directly under the Ministry of Roads and Surface Transport is criminally negligent when it comes to safety standards at its work places. I have written about this many times and it does not seem to be of any concern to either the NHAI or the contractors in charge of the mega projects. I am certain that every contract issued by the NHAI had inbuilt clauses of safety standards and the safe working steps to be taken by the contractor while executing the works. Any project site of the NHAI could be inspected to appreciate the fact that safety is farthest from their work procedures at site. Protection of deep excavation, proper signages of lanes closed/merged, inadequate lighting or absence of it, wardens at work sites, advance warning to road users, etc. are never there. If accidents do not happen or are infrequent it is just because of the Will of the Almighty and the good luck of road users. This day I was the beneficiary of both and I survived.
About 20 km from the hotel towards Mandi, in moderate drizzle I was cruising at about 30 kph bemoaning the lack of safety at site. I was on a partially completed 4 lane stretch. All of a sudden I was in front of a steel frame, meant to carry some warning which was neither illuminated nor lit, as the four lane was merging on to a two lane stretch. I veered to the right to avoid hitting the large steel frame and was fortunate that the oncoming truck was some distance away. Else I would have been pulp! I wish the safety department of the NHAI does regular safety audits of the work sites and set matters right. Under the present circumstances, safety is being sacrificed at the altar of commercials resulting in every day criminal acts against road users.
That incident shook me up and it set the tone for the day’s drive. Traffic was heavy and in the drizzle many trucks crawled and some idiotic car drivers tried their speeding skills endangering others on the road. At a couple of places traffic was held up for a while since drilling of rocks was in progress. It took me over three hours to reach Mandi covering just about 70 km. The crawl continued even beyond Bilaspur and Swarghat. The slow moving freight trucks on the Ghat section proved too much to handle. By the time I reached Nalagarh even Google Maps started behaving oddly. It started showing me the weirdest of routes to get to Jaipur, which was my destination for the day. In sheer frustration I decided to get to Chandigarh for a quick bite before I went any further.
But, the frustrations seemed never ending. The route through Baddi into Chandigarh was awful. Then came another stroke of great luck. As I was negotiating a poorly maintained stretch of road a small truck carrying long iron rods suddenly swerved and I could see the protruding iron rods swinging into my line of sight. I ducked, without losing grip on the steering wheel, knowing that the rods would smash through my windshield. It was just a matter of time, I thought in my head. Miraculously the iron rods missed the windshield – may be my time is not yet up. On another day those rods would have cleaved my head.
That was enough for me, I had to rest. I decided to have a feel of ‘Haveli’ in Chandigarh and googled the closest. It was in Chandigarh town. I was frustrated, a bit weary and in need of immediate rest. I set the map to the Google provided Haveli location. When I reached the location I found it to be neither a restaurant nor any place I could rest. When things go wrong, they never seem right!
I got back on to NH105 and drove on, hungry, angry and tired. In a while I came across the Haldirams I had used on my way to Chandigarh a few days back. It was raining and my eyes seemed a bit too weary for safe driving. I knew that I may not be able to drive through to Jaipur in that condition. Over lunch I thought I could reassess my options. In Haldirams, again, my luck was not in my favour. My favourite ‘Chole-Bhature’ was unavailable and the second option of ‘Rajma-Chawal’ was not yet ready. While I waited for the latter to get ready my eyes refused to leave the dessert counters. I soon fetched plates of Rasmalai and Kesar Cham Cham. The ‘Rajma Chawal’ turned out to be very ordinary. The desserts saved my day.
While in Haldirams, I decided to curtail the day’s drive at Gurugram. I was able to source accommodation in the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Sector 50. The transit to the Hotel was so chaotic and terrible I wondered how we plan our cities and carry out infra works. Gurugram is supposed to be a development hub. It is so chaotic and badly organised that the filth and dirt made me almost throw up. So much for Vikas.
Except for the Western Expressway all other tolls were suspended due to the ongoing farmers’ agitation. The plight of the agitating farmers is to be seen to be believed. With inclement weather the tents have become wet. Yet their resolve seems to have only been strengthened in such adversities. I wish the matter is resolved soon and the government gets back to governance and farmers get back to farming. Vendetta politics and bad policies have surely set us on a mutually destructive course with no solution in sight.
All bad things must end. It did the minute I walked into the Hotel. A smiling lady receptionist – I caught the smile despite the mask covering her face – gave me a comfortable room and sent the bags up to me. I collapsed on the bed for a while thinking of the two very near misses that certainly would have landed me in a hospital bed on a worse day. Here I was, injured mentally and emotionally scarred, but physically still alright. I spend some time recasting my plans and reorganising the documentation. The hotel kitchen gave me tasty chicken curry and rice to sate the hunger that had started stinging my entrails. The warm bed promised adequate rest before restarting the return journey to Chennai.
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