Friday, May 20, 2011

The Road: Our Frustration


I am frustrated!

It was so hard to arrange a vehicle to transport material to the building site. Last week, I hired a tractor to transport one cubic meter of river sand and 15 bags of cement . He took three turns to transport sand just one kilometer distance to the site. He demanded Rs 1750 per turn, which is quite unfair. When I think back, all the trucks and tractors we have hired so far have charged us excessively. They all say that the road is so bad that they have to charge a big fee to transport material to the site.

Heavily Washed Off Section of the Road
Yes, the road is bad only about 300m, the other section is carpeted or flat land where road is not damaged. How I hate to know that out of desperation, I had to pay a higher fee for transportation!

Rock Paved Section of the Road
I am determined to put the stop to this malpractice. The three wheeler (tuk tuk) drivers are the same. Last week, my mom, son and I wanted to hire a three wheeler to go to the Estate. There were nearly ten three wheelers in the park, but they said that they were not willing to go up. One guy agreed, but all three of us had to walk along the road, beside the three wheeler, which went up only with our bags.  I had to pay Rs 300 just for the empty three wheeler that went up.

Concreted Section of the Road
 I have a feeling that the three wheel drivers and truck owners in the area have ganged up altogether to raise the fee, citing the bad condition of the road as the reason for higher charges. They have created a monopolistic situation out of the misery that the villagers face due to the bad condition of the road. A lot of villagers cannot afford to repair or build their houses due to the difficulties of transporting construction material. I am thinking hard to find a way to get the road repaired. Perhaps I need to approach politicians to urge them to repair the road.

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