HOGs at Asansol Energy (IOC) on 2017-03-26 evening

HOGs on their return ride from Adra to Kolkata stopped to tank-up at Asansol Energy (IOC), on NH2 between Ghagarburi Temple and Kalipahari on 2017-03-26 evening.
There was an Indian and a Suzuki 1000 in the group, too. The others were Fatboy, Fatbob, Street, all from the Harley Davidson stable.

Sandip Samanta (owner of Asansol Energy), an avid Indian Roadie fan treated the 16 riders to hot 'pakoras' and tea.

Incidentally, #AsansolEnergy is an #IndianRoadiePreferredFillingStation.

HOG => Harley Owners Group.

Let's explore India together on road

I am at Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, the land of leopards in the state of Chattisgarh, India while driving solo from Pune to Kolkata.
I love to see India while travelling together with wanderlust backpacking travellers from throughout the world. 3 to 4 persons at a time from across the world are invited to travel with me in my car (SUV or sedan) at a very low cost (we will go Dutch!) in total comfort and absolute safety.
In the process, my travelbuddies get a true feel of entire India, its culture, topography, people, food, etc, etc. I get them to talk to the local populace in villages/ towns/ cities, school students, and also engineering/ business school students at various locations to understand the true India.
Multiple numbers of driving circuits have been planned for all weather round the year drives. However, we strictly do not drive during the night.
For students, researchers, bloggers, photographers, friends, couples, backpackers this will be one cherished and unforgettable holiday. This is not a business proposition. We simply embark on a journey and drive around as friends!

Does this sound interesting? Do you have friends who could be interested in joining me?

Email me on: roadieglobal@gmail.com
Call/ WhatsApp: +91 82408 49300

Connect to me and 'inbox' me on: www.facebook.com/deepbanerjee.marketingpundit.
Also 'like'/ 'join' the Facebook 'pages'/ 'groups' @ IndianRoadie, @ GlobalRoadie.
Follow me on Twitter @IndianRoadie, @GlobalRoadie.

#BeMyCarTravelBuddyInIndia
#BackpackingIndiaOnRoad

Drive to Tungnath, world's highest Shiva temple

Tungnath (12051 ft above sea level) is the world's highest Shiva temple.
One can reach Chopta from Haridwar or Rishikesh. It's approx 163 km from Rishikesh. One can drive or can take a bus or taxi till Chopta.
From Chopta it's a trek of 4 - 5 kms for Tungnath. 

Photo credit: Dinesh Negi

Goudaguda in Koraput, Odisha is home for an Australian guy

An Australian guy has made Goudaguda in Koraput district, Odisha his home.
Friend and award winning travel blogger Shivya Nath had the privilege of being a guest at this quaint little place.

Karnataka doctor's card swiped for Rs 4 lakh instead of Rs 40 at toll booth near Udupi

Toll attendant swiped Rs 4 lakh instead of Rs 40 from a doctor's debit card at Gundmi toll gate on the Kochi-Mumbai National Highway near Udupi around 10.30pm 2017-03-14, Saturday. The toll gate is 18 kms from Udupi, Karnataka.
The Mysuru-based doctor, who cops could identify only as Dr Rao, was travelling in his chauffeur-driven car to Mumbai via the coast. Around 10.30pm, he gave his debit card to pay the Rs 40 toll. The attendant, after swiping the card, gave the POS receipt and and toll receipt to the doctor.
When he received a text message that Rs 4 lakh had been debited from his account, he brought it to the notice of the toll gate staff. They refused to acknowledge their mistake, even after about two hours of the doctor's efforts to retrieve his money.
The doctor proceeded to Kota, which is about 5 kms from the toll gate, and went to the police station there around 1am to file a complaint. He returned to the toll gate with the head constable.
Finally, the toll booth personnel admitted the attendant had entered the wrong amount and offered to reimburse the excess amount by cheque. But the doctor insisted he wanted the entire amount in cash.
The toll gate personnel contacted senior officials of the collection company and made arrangements to pay the Rs 3,99,960 in cash around 4am. Police said the company usually has a daily collection of around Rs 8 lakh at Gundmi gate.

(Source: The Times of India dated 2017-03-14)

Jeep Compass to be launched in India in 2017

Jeep has huge plans for India going forward. While they currently have their CBU range on offer, they will soon be making their products in India. The Compass will be the first product to be made in India and according to a report by Overdrive, the vehicle is expected to start as low as Rs. 16 lakhs, which means it is going to take the fight to the XUV500 and the top end variants of Creta.

When is the expected launch?



The vehicle is expected to be launched in India in August 2017 and will have an introductory price of Rs 16 lakhs ex-showroom, which is way below the 20-25 lakh expectation that most people had. The Compass will be the first Jeep to be built in Fiat’s Ranjangaon facility near Pune. The Compass will also be exported from India to other markets.

Possible positioning:
The Compass is a compact SUV that seats 5. It is based on the Renegade platform, which means it is a small SUV about 4.4 meters long and 1.9 meters wide. It borrows design cues from its elder sibling, the Grand Cherokee. It has the similarly designed front grill and headlamps that give it an aggressive yet macho look. At the back, it will get LED tail lamps. The vehicle is pretty stylish to look at and will surely bring in a lot of customers if the pricing is done right.



On the inside, the car will get a U-Connect infotainment system with Apple carplay and Android auto. The touch screen system will either be a 7″ or a 8.5″ one based on the variant chosen. Safety features will include 6 airbags, ABS, ESP, hill hold assist and reverse parking camera with sensors. Jeep has confirmed that all their products launched will come with the option of 4wd, which means we can expect both the 2wd and the 4wd version to be on offer. The 4wd model will feature a Terrain-select dial to choose between the various terrains.

Power:



Fiat will offer the 2.0 liter Multijet engine with the Compass. This will churn out 160 Bhp and 350 Nm and will be mated to both a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic gearbox. There is no clarity on what petrol engine will make it to the Compass, if any.

Variants:
The Compass will be offered in a total of three trim levels, Sport, Longitude and Limited. Details on the loadings that each trim will possess are still not available and will be known closer to the date of the launch.

Competition:
Given the 16 lakh introductory price tag, the Compass will surely take buyers away from the Creta and the XUV500. This Compass will take on the Tucson and the Yeti though, in terms of positioning. Yes, the XUV, Hexa and the Crysta all have a third row, something which the Compass doesn’t. However that third row is barely used. What you loose there, you make up for in terms of brand value. Also the Jeep will be more capable than its competition, given that we will be getting the 4wd variant as well.

Source: Overdrive

Toyota Innova tyre burst kills JNTU VC near Anantpur on NH44 on 2017-02-22

A ghastly accident claimed the lives of the Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University Prof M M M Sarcar, his personal assistant and his driver on 2017-02-22. The accident took place in Pamidi Mandal, about 30 kms from Anantapur on NH-44 (erstwhile, NH7) .

The trio were travelling in a Toyota Innova when one of the front tyres of the car burst. The car was reportedly travelling at over 100 kmph at the time of crash. After the tyre burst, the driver lost control of the car which jumped over the median divider onto the other side of the road where it crashed into a truck that was coming in the opposite direction.

Everything ahead of the B-pillar of the Toyota Innova was crushed. The impact was so severe that all three died almost instantly and a crane had to be called to extract the bodies.

Bike trip to Bogatha waterfalls (near Etturnagaram), Laknavaram Lake from Hyderabad in October 2015

Travelogue of a single day ride by two friends (Raghu Jayaraman and Naveen Kalluri) in a single bike from Hyderabad to Bogatha waterfalls (near Etturnagaram) & Laknavaram Lake and back in October 2015.

1. Total distance clocked around 550 kms+.
2. Route: Hyd-Warangal-Mulugu-Etturnagaram.
3. Started at 5am from Uppal, Hyderabad. Six lane toll road before Ghatkesar till Raigir, which suddenly becomes a single lane all the way.
4. Reached Hanamkonda at 6.50am. After breakfast, started at 7.45am, less traffic and good roads till Pasara, after which a mini forest section with a single road for around 30kms. This stretch is quite narrow. As it was a long weekend, lots of vehicles started coming.
5. Before Etturnagaram saw another new wide road branch off, still we proceeded and reached the town at 9.15am. After some enquiry, learnt that the new road was the one we were supposed to take to the falls which leads to Bhopalpatnam as well.
6. Proceeded on that magnificent bridge and few kms ahead took a narrow strip to the falls. Spent around an hour near the falls, which had less water. Should be a good sight during the monsoon.
7. Started around 11.am, and went to Laknavaram lake and spent an hour there. Good amount of crowd, lined up for the boating.
8. Reached Hanamkonda at 2pm, and after lunch departed at 3pm and reached Hyd at 5.15pm, with couple of minor breaks in between.
9. One interesting fact about the newly constructed bridge at Etturnagaram is that it reduces the road distance by a whopping 175 kms to go across the river, as per some news links.

Test drive of Tata Hexa XTA in Kolkata on 2017-02-22

Accompanied my school buddy Sandip Samanta for a test drive of Tata Hexa XTA in Kolkata on 2017-02-22.



What's good in the XTA variant:
- The 2.2 ltr diesel engine is unbelievably quiet.
- The AMT version is a pleasure to drive.
- Powerful engine.

- The 2.2-liter VariCOR diesel engine, which delivers 156 PS and 400 Nm of torque, is paired to 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmissions, the latter gets a ‘Sport’ mode for better response. 
- Superb braking with disc brakes in the rear wheels also.
- 10 Speaker JBL system (5 speakers + 4 tweeters + 1 subwoofer) is awesome.
- Reasonably good safety features with 6 airbags.
- Premium Benecke-Kaliko seat upholstery. Very comfortable seating system. The finish is excellent.
- Smoked projector headlamps.
- Steering mounted Audio, Phone, Cruise control.
- 19" alloys with 235/85 tyres.

What's bad:
- All plastic items inside the car are of very poor quality.
- Access to the last row of seats is not an easy affair.

My verdict:
I have every reason to believe that Tata Motors is still trying out the perfect fit for the Indian market. The company will surely discontinue the Rs.19+ lakhs priced car in another 3 years, viz. by March 2020.

Drive to Sonajhuri Haat (fair), Shantiniketan, West Bengal in February 2017 by Sumana Banerjee

Buying and selling mood in rural West Bengal artistically captured by Sumana Banerjee during her drive to Sonajhuri Haat (fair), Shantiniketan, West Bengal in February 2017.

Bengal Trails series.



Photo credit: Sumana Banerjee.