Member of Parliament travels regularly in a bus

I belong to a small town in Himachal named Hamirpur. Having spent most of my life in Delhi, I have travelled from Delhi to Hamirpur innumerable times on this route which crosses cities of Chandigarh, Nangal and Una.

Now we proudly have a Volvo bus on this route and numerous ordinary ones but I have travelled ever since there were just two overnight buses from Hamirpur to Delhi. In those times, when I was a school kid, I was fascinated by some markings/notices on the bus. Apart from the usual ones 'Sawaari apne saaman ki khud zimmewaar hai'...there used to be some markings for seat reservations. Popular amongst them were 'Mahilayon ke liye' or 'reserved for women'; Viklango ke liye etc. The one which used to irk me the most was 'M.P/MLA ke liye'. I used to wonder, why would any M.P/MLA travel in a bus. Why have they reserved one seat for MP/MLAs, once we know, they are never going to use it. This feeling has been with me since a child.

A few months back, I was travelling to Delhi from Hamirpur and the bus stopped a little outside Chandigarh Bus stand. Somebody asks the conductor 'seat hai' and he nods. And I find a handsome looking man walk in and sit in the front row. It doesnt take long for me to recognise that he is my MP from Hamirpur, Anurag Thakur, who has of later got popular nationally because he is seen in many IPL cricket matches.

I start contemplating, why would this hot shot MP take a bus to Delhi. Perhaps, his car brokedown and thats why he had to take a bus. But I thought, he must enough money to hire a taxi, then why take a bus. But I was happy that at last some MP is finally travelling in a bus. So what if its a Volvo and not an ordinary one. Anyhow, he got down at Mandi House in Delhi in the morning being welcomed by his driver.

Last month, after Holi I was coming back to Delhi in the same bus and guess what. I again find him in the bus...but this time he boards it in Hamirpur. A red beacon car drops him at the Hamirpur bus stand. Now, I think..he seems to be a regular. Lets see.

I had my dinner at home and so I had nothing to do but sit outside the joint in Bangana, where the bus stops for dinner. Anurag probably was also full, so I just walked up to him and said Hello. I shared with him that I was pleased with the fact that he is travelling by bus...and told him my story of childhood of seats reserved for MP/MLA. He very casually said...Oh i use this bus a lot. I smiled and he said lets meet up for coffee sometime in Delhi. He shared his email and I left the conversation to start another one with my girlfriend over the phone.

I shared with her that Anurag was with me in the bus and she was not ready to believe.

Thats the state of affairs in India...to find an MP in a bus is unbelievable. Thats the reason, I really liked Arvind Kejriwal's morning walk and his statement that when in Scandinavia, you can bump into your Prime Minister at a bus stop...why not in India.

Frankly speaking, I was delighted to bump into my MP ( I am a voter  in Hamirpur) in the bus. And so were so many other passengers who later surrounded him. I even remember during my earlier sighting of him in the bus...there were many passengers taking selfies with him at Mandi House at 5 am in the morning. Some people met him on the way to Delhi at Bhota, Barsar, Bangana and Una. It seems they were party people.

But anyways...

Great Going Anurag! I hope to meet up with you over coffee and see you more often on that bus. I think you should also try the local ricketty bus  to Delhi sometime. I will be happy to accompany. And I am happy that finally those reserved seats would get utilised.


P.S - I am not a member of either BJP or AAP
-Why I chose to put this on this particular blog is because I consider it as a public solution...and would want it more. Perhaps, the era of rath yatras is gone and if a politician is really serious, he should travel with the public  in public transport.

My Gov - Portal for ideas and suggestions for development

I am happy that Modi started this portal where citizens could share ideas on governance and development.

In fact this blog was meant to do the same...so I am glad that Modi inherently thought of what I have been thinking for a while.

And it good that there have been themes put there so that the ideas get assorted automatically. It will be good to have a general group/theme also, where ideas beyond these could be added.

Its true partnership with the government at least online. It will be good if this can happen at the ground level also and small government offices and municipalities start listening to public.

For the portal now its also important to maintain the momentum and implement some of the ideas, which are viable. The people whose ideas are chosen and implemented should be rewarded and their stories put on the portal.

Refill your water bottle...Cola?

 I am against packed water...not because I am anti-globalisation /anti-MNCs or something...but just because I cant see so many pet bottles littered around the country with a sure shot future of never getting recycled.

And thats the reason why you would rarely find me having water from a pet bottle. Ghar se botal le jao yaar. Also, I dont mind drinking water from a public tap...because thats what I always used to do...before the advent of packed water, RO or Eureka Forbes water purifier!

But these days considering the quality of water available and secondly the mass phobia of tap water being dirty...people always look for packed water...as it would be hygienic and clean. And there are numerous articles on how pet bottles are refilled with tap water...and thats why people have started going for   costly packed water or branded packed water. Its also not rare to find water pouches being sold in the basti.

Though its not comfortable for me to be carrying a bottle everywhere...its actually a pain...but then I say to myself...at least I am contributing to sustainability on this planet.

Was travelling to Nellore last week and saw a water vending stall at the railway station. This stall being run by a company gives you refills of your favourite pet water bottle. Cool idea to save atleast some pet bottles to be thrown away. By the way the common pet water bottle has a long life if you have ever reused it for filling water.

I think...if not brilliant...it is definitely a great idea to reduce the huge load of pet bottles on this planet and in our country. Would love to see such kiosks at all stations. Refill for a one litre bottle costs Rs 3. What more do you want in life.

As now most of us consider RO water as pure...this can  urge customers to go for a refill than to spend on another pet bottle.

I am sure this must be going on at other prominent places in India...but I discovered it in Nellore. It could be a good revenue model for companies like Bisleri, Coke or Pepsi...and it would be much better for them to spend money on such kiosks than to do some silly CSR projects.








Part 2

Ab baat chal hi padi hai to main apne khayalaat...aerated drinks ke baare men bhi likh daaloon. Another great source of pet bottles is our Coke Mobile and Pepsi bottles. If you order cola anywhere...thats what you get ...a 500ml pet bottle...to be used and thrown...millions of them across India.

Now, I dont know what economics made our good old glass bottles to go away. You consume your cola and give back the bottle...to go back to the factory and again get refilled. Even the caps of the bottle are recycled.

It would be great for our Cola giants to actually start promoting these glass bottles and make that as their CSR project.

What we can take on is that the next time we have a party at home...we order for cola or soda in glass bottles rather than pet bottles.

Considering our pace of development...the mantra for liquids would definitely be refill.

ideas for Diwali gifts

The office boy just walked up to me with a tray full of dry fruits. I picked a few and asked whats the occasion? "Sir Jee... Diwali" he said. Didnt actually listen to him and started working on my computer. Suddenly, I realised that in my previous office I used to get a pack of sweets from office and out here just a few pea nuts...sorry pistacchios.

Questioned my neighbour...fortunately she was from HR and she told me the whole story. At CL (Career Launcher...the organisation I work for), all the sweets and eatable recieved by any employee as a Diwali gift are put in a pool and shared with the whole staff. I was impressed...what an idea.

I have worked in numerous offices before this and I am sure many employees must be recieving these sweets...but it was never put in a pool and distributed. Which means all the sweets went to an employees home. May be people never got this idea...its actually an HR idea.

After all the truth is that an employee gets a sweets box from a vendor or client just because of his position in the organisation. So, technically the sweets belong to the organisation and not to the employee.

Wonderful...feels great to be part of this organisation.

The HR friend further told me that all the non-consumable gifts are used by respective teams and cannot be taken home by any employee. Wow!

Let this be the norm everywhere this Diwali.

Considering the anti-corruption movement of Anna...arent the crores spent on Diwali gifts actually veiled corruption...if used for personal cause.

Queues at public places

How many times has it happened to you while standing in a queue at a public place? After waiting for hours...finally you get to reach the window to buy that cinema ticket or order something at a jointor at DU admission counters. And then somebody comes and tries to reach for the counter from both sides of you...confidently putting his hand forward with some money. Damn...its so irritating.

I was at a HDFC bank the other day and was fascinated by their new system of queue. I dont know when did they start it as I myself visited the bank after many years. These days with the advent of internet banking and plastic cards...one doesnt need to go to the bank.

Anyhow...just similar to the drill at the security check up at airports, where one has to wait for his or her turn to be frisked, HDFC bank has put a ‘keep off’ line. Only one person is allowed beyond the line ...the person who is getting service at the counter. The next person in line is a good 4-5 feet from the counter...thus avoiding confusion and irritation at the service window.

It was nice to see how people behaved themselves. Perhaps its time to adopt something similar at serive windows in public places...bus stations, railway stations, ticket counters etc. May be its not so difficult to implement as we think it is.

Flowers on my road

One main road adjoining the Ambedkar University in Sector 9, Dwarka has an amazing look these days. The road divider is full of flowers...its blooming.

I dont know of any other road divider in Dwarka, which has so many flowers. In fact its a sight much better that any of the roads in Lutyen's Delhi.

I wonder how is this possible...may be because there is a DDA nursery down the road.

Everytime I have travelled to the developed world, i have felt jealous of the flowers in the remotest alleys, jumping out of pots or a little piece of earth. Why couldnt we do the same in India.

And here I find it happening right now in my locality...Dwarka. Had it been somewhere in Lutyen's Delhi...it was ok...but its happening in Dwarka...which means its possible everywhere in Delhi and India.

May my wish come true.

Lane swapping

Now this is going to be a bit difficult to explain without graphics...but anyways...I will give it a try.
Roads in cities have road-dividers or medians in between. Onward vehicles on one side and backwards on the other side. While driving to office...I find that the road on my side is always full of traffic, while the other side is completely empty. In the morning, the side of the road going towards the city is completely jammed and the other is just the reverse. In the evening, its exactly the opposite.
Transport planners would understand that its the trend in all cities and if I remember that there is a concept in Population Geography about mobile population. City centres having the maximum population during day time and almost nil during evenings. Its just the same concept reflected on the roads.
The idea which I am proposing is that why dont we swap lanes during peak hours. Borrow a lane or two from the 'leaner side' or the side which is empty. The result is extra lanes to the jammed side. Now, i know this is not the sustainable solution. Sustainable solution is perhaps to have better public transport...but nevertheless its a solution.
Its not that an easy solution to implement, though.

The problem in implementation is that most of our road dividers are permanent in nature. If only they could be movable then we could do this swapping easily. This cannot be done in places where road dividers have street lights or house trees (I am not in favour of cutting trees). But on raods where they dont exist, some sort of an electrical device could demarcate the lanes by small pegs which come out of the road surface. Just like the jammers at five star hotels these days. Pegs which go up and down at the press of a button. These could be just one foot in height and no more.
I think at many places the Delhi Police is using such methods...but it may work. I also think if transport planners sit together...something more workable could be created through lane swapping.