Just one more day to go ... What happened as we cross into Uttar Pradesh from Bihar?

1. On the road with
Dar’Sel’Jamshedpur to Delhi
1-8 June, 2015
PART TWELVE
RAMESH KUMAR
Chairperson,
KRK Foundation +
Co-Founder,
Transport Mitra Services

2. Naaya, dhoya aur chal pade (Bathed, Washed and Moved
out) … from the holy city of Benares – Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency. City ugly, but
with a clean river, yes. He’s trying to make it like what he
did in Gujarat. Good luck. Everyone looks like a dacoit with
gamcha (towel), wrapped around their heads – including
policemen. There are many temples on this old Delhi-
Kolkota highway.

3. Dealer explains his interest to do business with
Darcl – just not fuel buying arrangement, but
with a large parking lot for Darcl vehicles to
park and rest.

4. The lifeline of India ….

5. Navbatpur again…
Darcl pilots gladly
receive us to share
their joys and
challenges

6. One of the main purposes of
this 8 day road trip was also to
IDENTIFY highway dhabas that
cater to long haul pilots at
some locations and bring them
under Transport Mitra-scripted
Dhaba Adoption Program
(DAP).
What DAP is all about?
Good question ….

7. When YOU and I travel
long distance by road,
where do we halt for
lunch/dinner?
A decent, airconditioned
restaurant. Right?
Decent ambience. Good
food. Cutleries. Chilled
water. Nimbu paani for
starters.
And finger bowls to clean
our fingers and lips post
lunch. Right?

8. By the way, where do our pilots stop for
lunch/dinner?
At dhabas or roadside eateries.
Less said about their hygiene and food
quality, the better. By the way, non-trucks will
not stop at these eateries.

9. Are these long haul pilots NOT entitled to good food, decent surroundings, nice place
to sleep? YES, they do.
Transport Mitra works along with OEMs and transporters working for them to create
the RIGHT kind of wayside amenities for long haul pilots to rest, eat and sleep with
decent toilet and washing facilities.
Instead of creating new wayside amenities, Transport Mitra advocates revamping the
existing ones. That’s much easier than building from the scratch.
This is what DHABA ADOPTION PROGRAM is all about… and MUCH MORE…

10. As part of finding a suitable dhaba for adoption, we locate one near Nabatpur which
incidentally is a favourite with Darcl pilots and engage the owner to know his likes and
dislikes. Spacious enough to accommodate more long haul trucks, but without toilets.
The owner shows interest to be part of the proposed Dhaba Adoption Program. It is
strategically located on the edges of NH2 with bathing facility, shoe shop, mechanic
tent, cloth pressing facility and transport pass making facility. Darcl pilots approve of
this site. Half the job done.

11. Near Chandoli, on Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border, we are
stumped by a beautiful BPCL Ghar – supposed to be a
trucker-friendly dhaba. Excellent bathing & toilet facility,
hair styling shop, provision store and an eatery….

12. Pintu Singh, owner of RK Food
Point and National winner of
Mahindra Transport
Excellence Award for best
trucker’’s dhaba, boasts of
high footfalls from pilots.
Significantly, there is no
difference in food served for
non-pilots and pilots, except
non-pilots sit in an air-
conditioned restaurant and
eat the same food. Same
menu, same kitchen. He
charges differently for the
ambience! .

13. All said and done, this is
an excellent trucker-
friendly dhaba. Yet, the
bedding section for night
halting drivers looks a bit
jazzy. Doubtful whether
pilots really shell out
money to leave their
vehicles at night to sleep
in these beds.
Perhaps a night visit at
sometime in the near
future to know the truth is
a necessity. Till then, full
marks to BPCL’s Ghar
initiative.

14. Meet Tuntun Paswan (in white
headgear), a long haul pilot who
regularly drives between Kolkota
and UP towns carrying coal in one
direction and anything else in the
reverse.
This is his favourite halting point
where he cooks at the dedicated
shelter and eats with his
colleagues. Why can’t he eat at
Pintu’s dhaba? “Expensive,”
responds he!
He loves car carriers, but not
comfortable with parking and
reverse. So, a big NO to car
carriers…