Chennai residents should prepare themselves for more of the three-wheeled contraptions with bus-yellow open sides and black tops. These are also known as
tuk-tuks or
autos for short. A 12-year old ban on registration of new auto rickshaws has just been lifted, as the government decided that the current number was low, particularly when compared to other Indian cities.
Currently there are 52,000 auto rickshaws in Chennai. Compare this to Hyderabad which has 64,000 and Bangalore at 78,000, even though the cities are smaller than Chennai. The article did mention though that the DMK (current Tamil Nadu party in power) government did issue permits for 10,000 auto rickshaws since assuming office, despite the ban. Bribes tend to work quite well here for getting your way....
The Minister of Transportation figured that an increased number of auto rickshaws would bring down the current fare. Yea, right.
He also expressed frustration that grants for fixing meters was not working, as auto drivers were "not ready" to use the meters. No surprise there. They can make so much more arbitrarily charging higher amounts to all, particularly non-Indians. In cities that use meters, prices are
significantly lower. Yes, I know, it's still a lot cheaper than taking a taxi, but you do have to deal with negatives such as coming to school with wild wind-swept hair, getting splashed on during the rainy season, inhaling the fumes, and simply being in a thin metal crazy swerving contraption with no doors and a squeaky rubber bulb for a horn.
In the photo: Auto rickshaw all decked out for Ayda Pooja festival, complete with banana stalks, pooja markings, and floral garland. Note the horn on the side.
After packing our bags in the car for the last time and politely saying no to a man who wanted to take us to certain places, we endured the Bangalore traffic and reached the Lalbagh gardens. Established in 1740 by Haider Ali, these gardens are spread over 240 acres of land. Its contents are quite varied – from the tropical and subtropical plants already initially over by Haider’s son Tipu Sultan, to rare species imported from London in the 1870’s. We walked past the massive rock hill composed of Peninsular Gneissic rock (said to be one of the oldest in the world), past a sleeping dog on a bench, and towards Lalbagh’s iconic structure – the Glass House. This airy 19th century structure was modeled after London’s Crystal Palace. Although it was presently empty, an annual horticultural show transforms the Glass House into a floral wonderland. In front of this was a military bandstand, also built by the British around the same time. On the park’s many paths shaded by champaka trees and pencil cedars, people could be seen strolling along and engaged in multiple forms of exercise. School children also came to enjoy the well-maintained park. Out of a hole in one tree popped out a bright green parrot with an orange beak. Crows squawked noisily amidst the branches of bamboo. Although the lotus pool had no flowers at the time, we did have ample opportunities to photograph other flowers. There are said to be over 1,000 species of flora in the park and contains India’s largest collection of rare plants.
Our ride to Bangalore revealed a familiar rural scene; a plethora of rice fields, interspersed with some sugar cane fields. People were busy working in the fields, some by hand, a few using a few tractors, and others utilizing cattle. Women sifted grain by hand. Men loaded straw onto already overflowing wagons. We passed by brightly painted bullock carts moving along the side of the road. On one, a man slept on top of a large mound of hay being hauled by two cows. Sleepy men dozed in an open truck full of produce. Large truckloads of thin branches passed us. Other trucks served as public transportation vehicles. The wider road took us through plenty of small towns, providing us brief glimpses of village life.
