This topic is like the garbage, being strewn all over Bengaluru despite knowing it is something that should not be done. But still being done by all directly or indirectly.

So long as Indians continue to practice on the sly,  mediocrecy and psychophancy, these things will continue unabated.  When the CM can perform homa in Vidhana Soudha, the muzarai Minister orders all temples in the State to conduct homas, havanas on the occasion of birthday of some hi-end politicians, doing such poojas by ordinary mortals and hilighting it for a discussion is rather a waste. of time for Prajas.

What earthly purpose will be served and what mega decisions can be floated by Prajas and who will care for them are moot quetions.

- Vasanth Mysoremath

• favorite 92 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

I on behalf of public would like to question KSRTC, from where the money came in? Is that the public money being sanctioned for homas? Is the money being collected forcefully or non-forcefully from the employees?
Government should set a inquiry on the this and find out the exact source of money, and if KSRTC found to be guilty, they should pay back to the public.

• favorite 96 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

KSRTC Hq. in Bangalore should have a permanent Homa Kunda just opposite their main Bus Stand in front of the Railway station. The purohiths dressed in Khaki panche  with Yellow and black tilakas should make each passenger bold enough to get into the bus, a pradaksine of Homa three times. After each passenger is given prasad - a ticket with rasayana - and each passenger has blown into Shanka, then only the bus should start. Every Km , the circle inspector of KSRTC should do 'Drishti Nivarane - to the bus.Then only the safety of passengers can be made sure of. There is no need to check breaks, accelerator, steering etc. There is no need to give training to new drivers.

• favorite 95 Likes
• | login or register to post comments

NH-48 has now become a 4-lane expressway from Nelamangala, almost upto Chanarayapatana (some 30Km short of Hassan). Toll booths have come up on this stretch and should become operational soon, I expect.

Driving towards Mangalore down this stretch (some 10 days back - check this), some 20 km before Chanarayapatana, we suddenly found vehicles coming in the opposite direction (towards us) on our side of the road, and keeping to their left - meaning, onto us on our fast lane. There was absolutely no advance warning for us, and travelling as we were at a fairly high speed on the well laid out expressway, we were taken totally by surprise, and not a pleasant one at that. Whatever, realising that vehicles were being diverted onto our side, possibly on account of some blockage on the other side, we slowed down till we found that the flow from the opposite side had abruptly stopped, some 5 km from where it had started. Again, there was no indication whatsoever of where the diversion had ended, like with the start too.

The extremely serious nature of the hazard, that this lack of advance warning poses, hit us forcefully on our return journey, when we reached this stretch around 8 PM. The barricade marking the diversion came upon us, out of the darkness, again without any advance warning, and we had to brake hard to avoid running into it. Not surprisingly, we found the barricade totally contorted, with many a vehicle having rammed into it already. We switched to the other side, and drove slowly using low beam headlights, and the hazard blinkers switched on. In spite of this, we sensed the surprise, on the part of the drivers of the oncoming vehicles, by our presence on this side, quite like we were taken by surprise, on our upward journey. After a while, both the streams (upward and downward) kind of came to terms with each other, and went about negotiating their way carefully.

Suddenly, however, a KSRTC bus came from behind at full speed and overtook us, scattering the oncoming traffic out of its way. Even as we were trying to get over the shock of it all, another KSRTC bus came from behind, at an even higher speed, overtook us, and went on to overtake the earlier bus, almost ramming into an oncoming vehicle, in the process. I had braced myself thinking I was about to witness a head on collision. It was a miracle it didn't happen, surely on account of the skill of the driver of the oncoming vehicle, though, I would be surprised if he has not had a nervous breakdown since then. I myself have started paying higher respects to KSRTC and BMTC buses, since then than before, veering well out of their way during my normal city drives (May be, that's one way of achieving the bus priority laning for buses).

On a serious note, however, I don't know if these government set ups can ever get to discipline their staff. Throughout the journey, the many KSRTC buses we passed, made us very much aware of them. However, this particular incident has done far more than that.

Of course, the question will be raised as to whether the private operators are any better. As far as inter-city services in South India are concerned, I have seen press reports about just two accidents involving them, in the recent past - one a KPN bus, near Vellore, and another somewhere on the Kerala route. On a comparison, the reports I have seen of accidents involving KSRTC buses are far more.

• favorite 101 Likes
• | login or register to post comments