Mustard flowers somewhere near Bolpur

Mustard flowers, off the State Highway, somewhere near Bolpur, Birbhum district, West Bengal.

'Beating the heat' by Prasad Karkada

That's what a passionate rider Prasad Karkada (Facebook@prasadkarkada) calls "beating the heat".

Photo courtesy: Prasad Karkada.

Mom who lost 17-year-old in accident turns ‘traffic cop’ in Ghaziabad

She isn't a cop and she can't challan traffic offenders. All she has is a stick and a stern demeanour but 57-year-old Dorris Francis knows how important her job is to rush-hour commuters on the accident-prone Aitbaar Pushta intersection at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border on NH24. Dorris lost her 17-year-old daughter, Niki, six years ago after a speeding car crashed into their autorickshaw at this very spot. Months later, the grieving mother took up her "post" to ensure no one else suffered Niki's fate.

For several years now, Dorris has played traffic cop from 7am-10am every day, directing vehicles and pedestrians converging from Khoda, Indirapuram and Delhi. The cut, a few hundred metres from UP gate, is illegal, carved out by local residents who must otherwise take a lengthy detour. Police say each time it is barricaded, local residents break it down. Policemen are deployed at times but when this TOI correspondent visited the intersection on Saturday morning, Dorris was alone at her "post".

Dorris says there has been only one fatal accident here since she took charge, on a Sunday morning when she was at church. It was around eight months ago and one of their neighbours, a woman, was killed. It brought back memories of the morning of November 9, 2008 when Dorris, her husband Victor and daughter Niki were returning home to Khoda in an autorickshaw.

"Niki was ill and we were returning from Delhi after a medical check-up. Just as we turned right towards Khoda, a speeding car hit us. All three of us had to be hospitalized after the accident. Niki sustained severe injuries to her lungs. She languished on a hospital bed for a year before dying of her injuries," recalls Dorris.

Even though she volunteered to do a job the police should've done, there were obstacles in the way. In 2011, barricades were erected at the cut, which is the shortest route thousands of residents from Khoda take to Indirapuram where they do odd jobs to feed their families. "My son was arrested in the fracas. But the issue was resolved after a few compassionate senior police officials and citizens intervened. I got justice," says Dorris, who requested the police not to put up barricades and offered to manage the area herself.

Despite the onslaught of age and ailments, and a severely diabetic husband who is mostly confined to home, Dorris has determinedly carried on. She battles chronic hypertension and suffered from a liver ailment and a blood infection in the past, but nothing can stop her on the job, she says.

Her work has not gone unnoticed. "We appreciate the kind of service Dorris is doing by supplementing the work of police in traffic management. It's always a positive sign if citizens put forth efforts to help cops in policing matters in a constructive manner," said Dharmendra Yadav, SSP of Ghaziabad.

Niki's eight-year-old daughter lives with the couple after her father too passed away a few years ago. Dorris's son, who drives an auto, helps run the family. "Till I have life within me, I will continue with the work. I will ensure that not a single life is lost to rash driving. If God has given me the gift of life, it should be used for the benefit of society at large," she says.

(Source: Times of India, 3rd November 2014)

JustSportz Total Monsoon Drive 3 (Kolkata - Haldia - Mandermoni) on 2014-11-16

JustSportz Total Monsoon Drive 3 (Kolkata - Haldia - Mandermoni) flagged off from South City Mall, Kolkata on 2014-11-16, 8am onwards.
Distance covered appox. 285 kms.
Tata Motors had six teams participating from across the country. The Tata Xenons driven down from Hyderabad and Bangalore were a pleasure for the eyes.
This event is Round 7 of 2014 FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally Championship
&
Round 2 of Eastern India TSD Challenge.

FMSCI = Federation of Motor Sports Club of India.
TSD = Time-Speed-Distance.
INTSDRC = Indian National TSD Rally Championship.
EITC = Eastern India TSD Challenge.

Hyundai i20 of Amandeep Singh catches fire near Sonepat on 2014-11-09

Amandeep Singh was travelling with his family from Chandigarh to Delhi on 9th Nov 2014 in his Hyundai i20. They were around Sonepat, when a passer-by waved at him indicating that there was smoke coming from the car. Fortunately, the car had just crossed an intersection and the speed was slow. They were really lucky that everyone got out of the vehicle safely, however, was shocked to see their vehicle in flames just moments after.

After running from pillar to post for 16 days between Hans Hyundai, New Delhi & Hyundai Motor India Limited all they heard from them was that the car caught fire due to some external substance and that they cannot do anything about it. How very convenient on the part of Hyundai! Hyundai sells one of the premium hatchbacks available in the Indian market; it cannot just catch fire while in motion due to “external substance”.

The car was purchased from Hans Hyundai, Moti Nagar, New Delhi about 3 years ago. The car has run a mere 13,000 kms and was serviced at Hans Hyundai service center only a week before the incident took place. It looks to be a case of negligent servicing on the part of Hans Hyundai.

After this incident when he searched the internet, he was shocked to find that this was not an isolated incident of i20 catching fire.

Harley-Davidson and The Nature Conservancy join forces for Plant a Billion Trees program

Harley-Davidson and The Nature Conservancy have joined forces, and the unlikely pair has a shared goal: Mobilize a dedicated global community (HOG riders) to raise enough funds to plant 50 million trees worldwide by 2025.

"A central part of motorcycling is experiencing the great outdoors; to see the world from behind the handlebars is unlike anything else," said Mark-Hans Richer, CMO of Harley-Davidson. "We are dedicated to preserving the open road for future generations of riders.”

As part of its Renew the Ride initiative, the Harley-Davidson Foundation has committed to a series of annual grants totaling $550,000 in support of The Nature Conservancy's global Plant a Billion Trees program.

Perils of night driving! R.I.P. Pradeep P.Thevanoor

Perils of night driving!
R.I.P. Pradeep P.Thevanoor

SCMS group (Kochi) vice-chairman Pradeep P.Thevanoor, 46, died on the spot when the Range Rover he was driving rammed a lorry from behind and turned turtle at Kaveripatnam in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, around 2 am on Monday, 17th November 2014.

Pradeep, elder son of the SCMS founder, Dr GPC Nayar, was on way to Bengaluru in connection with setting up the SCMS Institute of Technology and Management there.

Fond of driving, Pradeep had left Cochin for Thiruvananthapuram by road with his driver Ramesh on Sunday, 16th November 2014 morning. He returned in the evening, dropped the driver and drove straight to Bengaluru for the official meeting.

He leaves behind wife Dr Radha Thevannoor and children Prateek Nair, a class X11 student of Choice School, and Parvathy Nair, a class five student. The last rites were performed at 3 pm on Tuesday, 18th November 2014.