Prolonged stay in the US may have made me sound naïve, but I find all the talk about bad roads getting bogged down in a discourse on shoddy work and sub-standard material; poor maintenance and a paucity of funds. In the US, construction/repair of certain roads, freeways or tunnels, is taken care of by a self-sustaining toll system. All vehicles using these roads pay a fee at an automated toll gate.
Why can't Mysore have a toll gate system on high traffic roads? Old/new Sayyaji Rao Road, JLB Road, Narayan Shastry Road…etc with nominal toll charge of one rupee per vehicle (more for trucks and private buses). It may be worthwhile if road maintenance agency and road users, represented by Citizens groups, Automobile Association and other NGOs, come up with a joint authority to administer the toll system.
The NGO's/chambers of commerce etc. can take responsibility and work with the government to put the system in place, and ensure that the toll collections go only for proper upkeep of roads. The era of the city authorities auctioning off parking lots and toll gates and letting contractors exploit the public must go, GO.
Where does the road tax collected from commoner vanish?? Should we say that this is the reason our corrupt politicians and administrators have a protruded belly?? Collecting another tax over and above road tax is undoubtedly a burden on the poor salaried man. The living standards of US are not comparable with that of Mysore.
It is quite easy to answer the question of what happens to the road tax paid by the road users. It certainly does not get back to the road. It is waylaid and instead of pavments lining the roads, it lines the pockets of the "You - know - whos". Toll collection is certainly a good idea. People who travel on the Bangalore Tumkur national highway can vouch for it. The quality of the road is worth mentioning. There are periodic underpasses for the people who require to cross the road. No road crossing allowed. 4 foot high barricades run along the road. Our authorities require the commitment to bring in toll collection and do away with the road tax. Commuters certainly wont complain in that situation.
Well, I stayed in the US for more than 13 years and still go back twice every year. Tolls are mainly on highways, not on city roads. Also, many western states such as California and the like, have no toll roads at all and they are called freeways. They have excellent highways criss srossing the State of CA and no toll roads!
In India they collect road tax, meant for road repairs and maintenance. Also, Madhukar is talking about toll roads such as the Tumkur Highway. There are others in india such as the Mumbai_pune highway which is also a toll road. Some of these roads have been built on BOOT contracts and the builder is allowed to collect toll. The new Mysore-Bangalore highway being constructed by Nandi Infrastructure Projects, a private co, will also be a toll road. One more thing, in india we pay double taxes. unlike the UK and the other countries that I have been where the local taxes were replaced by VAT, it is only in India that VAT was introduced while the other taxes remain and hence the total one has to pay for the same goods in different states is different. VAT was supposed to make it uniform. We have Chidambaram, the Finance Minister, to thank for this fiasco.
A quick addition. Tolls are also in the eatern US for using tunnels and bridges. We used to have one on the Nanjangud bridge. They used to collect toll and the bridge and the road was in a state of utter mess. I used to complain every time about the state of the bridge and the road and the toll collected.
Why can't Mysore have a toll gate system on high traffic roads? Old/new Sayyaji Rao Road, JLB Road, Narayan Shastry Road…etc with nominal toll charge of one rupee per vehicle (more for trucks and private buses). It may be worthwhile if road maintenance agency and road users, represented by Citizens groups, Automobile Association and other NGOs, come up with a joint authority to administer the toll system.
This is the thrust, as I see it. It's an idea that deserves to be certified as home-grown, and probably, merits scrutiny for what it is worth. One doesn't see how talk of Mysore-US difference in living stds. is relevant here. It is very revealing (for those of us who might not know) to learn that our tax money vanishes and our politicians are prone to liniing pockets. They can explain away almost every one of our lapses. Talking about it no longer scores even debating points.
As for Pratibha's idea, one-rupee toll for the run of the entire JLB Rd. doesn't sound unreasonable. They charge twice as much in some pay-toilets. And people don't grumble paying as much as Rs.5 for parking cars. And haven't we all read about the parking lot attendants charging as they please, right at the door steps of the hill residence of Chamundeswari ? And do we think about accountability of the road tax people pay when the parking lot guy strikes a Pathan-like pose sets us back by Rs 5, Rs.10 or whatever before we could a yard further.
Agreed, this is not a US-India living standards thing. With the cost of two wheelers and cars these days and the huge number of people buying these vehicles, its not like the proposal to raise Rs. 1 per vehicle is going to hurt the "common" man.
There are some physical problems associated with having toll gates at major roads. Traffic back up and congestion is one of the problems. Toll booths and entry points will have to be widened at the entrance to these roads mentioned. Where is the space in a narrow, congested city as Mysore? Mind you, such an exercise has never been done anywhere in India and for all the discussion here, may not find favour with most of the vehicle owners and operators. These people on there vehicles can't wait for the signal light to change before they start speeding through, you think they would wait to pay toll? Singapore has found a way to solve inner-city traffic congestion. These include pre-paid toll stickers that are automatically scanned and money debited whenever such a vehicle makes and entry into the city center area. Thats all high tech stuff and Rs. 1 per vehicle cannot underwrite such investment on equipment over many many years.
Mysoreans, as others, are resitant to change and anything that makes their life a little more taxing each day will be resisted. In my opinion the idea is a good one, the problem lies in implementation. There will be problems of accountability. At some time, this may also become an avenue for corruption. It runs in the blood. However, that does not mean we have to give up and face the inevitable, whatever is dished out by the Authorities.
Bad roads in all the town is almost an accepted situation today, what we all know & cannot do much , we all pay life time road tax but we do not get life time good roads 1. Money spent on the road repairs & new roads , if you check out will be equal or more than enough to give us life time roads , but we all know where the money goes. 2. Same goes with the road side light pillers & cables, just see the state of M.G.Road lighting , all the pillers are rusted & bent , the underground cables are all gone , we see ugly overhead wires hanging. 3.The black washing of the roads are done only on the roads when we have a so & so visiting or going through Mysore. 4. The timing of the repairs are so bad , we get to see the works being done during rains, how will the tar hold. 5. The load on the on the trucks are not checked , heavy trucks are major problem to the city roads. 6.Many agencies dig out the roads .
There may be endless reasons, but lac of accountability must be the basic reason.
(Singapore Roads -- no one can buy cars freely like in India, they have to get a permit which is some times more expensive than the car, the vehicles have to be taken out of the roads after some years. this is done to keep the number of cars on the road in control )
True, Dr. Rajeshwar. It is not revenue collection that is the problem. Even if money is collected properly by tolls and such methods, ultimately the money goes into the pocket of the road contractor who will be hand in glove with the Authorities. Regarding Singapore, the good Doctor is again right. For those who say Indian standard of living is lower than the US, I would like to say that may be true but is not slowing down the purchase of vehicles in this country. Even Singapore is ahead of India in many ways including living standards but cost of living here is far cheaper and you don't have any restrictions on howmany cars you can buy or how many times you drive anywhere.
Anybody think that a mass transit system by way of a metro rail or a "skyBus" type is a good option to de-congest the roads? In Seattle, USA, there are park and rides just like the rest of the US. Except that all travel within the downtown area in the sub-terranian and above ground busses is free, absolutely free.
The park and ride works like this: You drive to a park and ride located outside in the suburbs and park your vehicle. You'd have to pay for the parking, of course. Then take a ride into town which is free or nominal ticket. In Seattle (I lived there among dozens of other places) we used to park at the International distric park and ride and from there took a FREE bus to downtown and then through out the say, the entire downtown area ride is free. At the end of your work, you'd go back to the park and ride and claim your vehicle and go home. That way, downtown is de-congested.
If some kind of a "system" is not devised ASAP,then the day will be not be far away,when Mysore faces a situation similar to Bangalore, in terms of its traffic, also given the fact that suburban Mysore growth is quite haphazard. Why doesnt the MUDA consult a professional city architect?!
In Seattle (I lived there among dozens of other places) we used to park at the International distric park and ride and from there took a FREE bus to downtown and then through out the say, the entire downtown area ride is free. At the end of your work, you'd go back to the park and ride and claim your vehicle and go home. That way, downtown is de-congested. Reactions?
A concept that is a decade or two ahead of time, by our Mysore pace. I have a related thought on downtown bus services. They run in loss in the US (Yes, even in that profit-driven land) but no thought of shutting down the service is entertained. Because, transport is a public service, considered important enough to be sustained despite indefinite losses. But the loss incurred in public transport is shared among varied agencies. I know of Pheonix, Ariz., where the city bus service is funded by allocations from the federal, and the state govts., the city council, and, most importantly, the local chamber of commerce. Operational losses, when shared among these agencies, becomes bearable enough to sustain the city bus service.
The chamber of commerce is involved in funding on the principle that its members - offices, shops and eshtablishments in downtown - are benefited the most by the running of the service. For the regular bus passengers are all employees of various business and commercial establishments and downtown shoppers.
Sorry. I know all this really belongs elsewhere, but couldn't resist this intrusion, after reading Capt.Murthy's post.
I do not see any practicality/ financial viability of toll collections within any city. It is unlikely to work. However, it should be possible for us to get Mysore Corporation to permit private companies, commercial establishments shops, building owner's associations, builders etc, to volunteer to maintain the roads ( like some circles or parks are now maintained ) nearest to them. Road Maintenance Funds can be raised ( jointly, if necessary ) by such private units and roads will definitely be kept in good condition by them. If names of funding agencies can be displayed on boards on the respective roads/ stretches, they will take pride in the good work that is done in the upkeep of our roads. Same policy can be adopted in respect of garbage clearance in individual streets, which is a more severe problem in Mysore.
"This stretch of the road sponsored by.....so and so" like on the TV. I think this is a viable alternate idea of Mr. Bhagavan. This will perhaps be an idea that works.
Good points from Mr. GVK in his "intrusion" but I guess underwriting losses of the bus system by various parties does amount to "free lunch"!!! So, there is such a thing as free lunch! I think public service facilities are an important and essential requirement. If the Government does not have to spend on anything at all, why do we need to pay taxes then??
Not quite a 'free lunch', for the Phoenix bus service is ticketed. It is inadequate traffic that results in loss. Hiking fare beyond a point becomes pointless, even if publically acceptable. The chamber of commerce bears a share of the loss cheerfully, for, in the absence of a reliable bus service to downtown, office and business establishments stand to lose more by way of late-coming employees, and loss of customers coming to downtown maily because of the public transport facility.
Mr. Nataraj's poem on the 'oggarane' in Kannada fonts is even more difficult to read let alone comprehend that the one in English fonts. Sorry Mr. Nataraj.
About the concept of public sponsered roads, is a good idea. I am sure it should work out.
While working for a wireless equipment dealer about 5 years back, I used to travel in Kodagu dist. extensively. Individual estates had their own tarred roads. I had heard that it would cost approximately Rs. 1 lac per kilometer of tarred road. That would make it quite affordable( even at the present rate which may be slightly more) for the individual business operators to individually and/or collectively sponsor at least the sponsor the cost of the road in front of their business places. That would certainly go a long way in improving the quality of the roads in a majority portion of Mysore.
It would also be of interest to all, that Bangalore Mahanagara Palike is running a contest "Spot a Pot Hole" contest by designating certain roads at a time where people are invited to spot pot holes. The BMP is spreading this context area wise and so far there are still no reports on anyone being able to spot the pot holes.
The BMP would have resurfaced the particular roads the previous day. Lot of roads are now being resurfaced in the past month.
I understand your enthusiasm for Kannada However, some less endowed individuals, such as yours truly, miss out on your thoughts because of our linguistic inadequecy. Till such time we get accomplished enoguh in this department, I would appreciate if you post your thoguhts in English, for the benefit of all those who access this site..
You mean Kannada to be typed in english? the above illegible script is appearing becuase i used the baraha software thinking that this website supports baraha so that everybody can read the sweet kannada. Unfortunately, this turned out to be unreadable script.Pl advise.
