When I flew out of Delhi around Indian Republic Day on a 24-day whirlwind tour of a couple of western and southern states, it was a sheer coincidence that most were non-Congress ruled States. Barring Maharashtra, chaperoned by Sharad Pawar’s National Congress Party and the Indian National Congress, rest were the AIADMK-ruled Tamil Nadu, BJP-ruled Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. My mission was more business-oriented with a special focus on passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturing activities and the status of highways/roads in these States.
Pune was my first halt, the country’s main automotive hub, in Maharashtra. You name the automotive giants and they are there. Just not the manufacturers but all those who support this massive industry: auto components, logistics service providers, transporters and fabricators. Between my maiden visit in 1990 when trade union Rajan Nair was a nightmare in and around Chinchwad and now, the city has undergone tremendously. Massive industrial clusters, excellent roads and prosperity. Barren agricultural lands quietly got themselves converted into state-of-the-art manufacturing plants that trundle out world class – meaning, export worthy – passenger and commercial vehicles for the global market.
Drive through the State Highway (Pune-Nagar Highway) and you cannot miss the din and bustle. If it was a kutcha road three decades ago, today, a sleek road passes through. You cannot miss SUVs parked precariously on the highways at every single village dotting the highway. By and large, most of these SUV owners were once upon a time, farmers toiling and tilling their arid lands. When opportunity knocked on their doors in the form of auto makers seeking land to build their facilities, these farmers hard bargained and moved away from farming. How many of them wisely invested that money and ensured long term prosperity I have no idea. However, one thing is for sure, they have become proud owners of big cars.
“We are happy that they have made it. But they are a big cause for concern as well,” tells Suhas Padte, working for a MNC at Ranjangaon. If he is to be believed, these ex-farmers, literally nothing to do during daytime, drive down to the highway to spend time over tea and chatting for hours together with fellow villagers. In the process, they block the smooth passage of innumerable factory-bound vehicles carrying materials from Pune non-stop by parking their SUVs. Given the fact that almost all auto makers have embraced Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing practice, delay of components of body shells automatically lead to heart burns for plant heads and their team. If there is just one such trouble spot on this Pune-Nagar highway, it is tolerable. However, the 60 km Pune-Ranjangaon stretch has more than half a dozen villages. This automatically translates into that many spots of SUV challenge. One scratch on the SUVs and hell will break out.
Normally, a vehicle can cover this distance in less than an hour. But around peak time – remember, a majority of workforce live in Pune and commute to Ranjangaon by company buses – travel time balloons up. “Sometimes, we spend more than two hours in the return journey,” confesses Mrinali Bandarkar, working in a component firm. Monsoon adds its own challenges on these Maharashtra roads.
Another challenge erupts during marriage seasons. With some temples dotting the highway, long wedding processions throws the entire traffic movement out of gear. You just cannot do anything. Many of the people in these long processions also happen to have political leanings and none can dare to question or touch them. “What is the point of declaring Ranjangaon MIDC as a five star manufacturing facility if we have to face this kind of hurdles on a regular basis?”, asks a senior executive in one of the Ranjangaon firms. Valid point.
Job for locals is another emotive issue. Today’s automotive plants are high tech and scope for deploying unskilled labour in huge numbers is difficult. Still, a lot of accommodation takes place. What is significant is that the attitude of those who get employment in big companies in this belt. Some feel and behave as if they are doing a ‘service’ to the company that hired them in the first place. “You learn to live with it,” points out someone in a plant.
Politicians also play a big role, surreptitiously – as is to be expected. Companies are compelled to hire vehicles that do not strictly adhere to laid down guidelines. “Our objective is to eliminate pilferage and theft en route and for this we demand fully covered vehicles (containerized) for movement of goods. But, transporters insist on using their uncovered vehicles. It requires a lot of political string pulling to straighten things out,” admits officials in Talegaon, another industrial belt.
What is surprising, tells a senior executive in Pune, is that India is progressing despite such roadblocks. Yes, indeed.
Sorry, Indore!
Indore, the business capital of Madhya Pradesh, was a surprise package for me. Of course, it was my maiden trip. All my notion of Indore as a small town went for a six no soon I landed at the deserted but modern and sleek airport made of steel and mirror mostly on a weekday afternoon. Approach road into the city needs a lot more work. B S Sastry, Consultant working for an American company, a regular visitor to Indore from Hyderabad pointed out that Indore has undergone a major change over the past 10 years. He ought to know well because he has been visiting Indore almost every month on business. However, he has one big grouse. “Why is there no direct flight from Hyderabad?” he asks. Businessmen like him have to travel to Indore via Raipur which consumes extra time and almost the first half of any working day is wasted. “Indore deserves such a service,” adds he wistfully. It is altogether another matter that the airport also provides ‘free mosquito service’. Why not they spray some repellent and save passengers is a mystery.
The visit to Indore was also to touch base with Vandana Laddha, Director of Shivani Carriers. What is so great about her? Good question. She has just returned from a fortnight long special session at Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad. Incidentally, she is one of the few chosen candidates by Mahindra Navistar under its recently launched MPower programme whereby the company selects young and second generation transporters regionwise and sends them to the prestigious management institute to get them exposed to better management techniques. By the way, Vandana – mother of two school-going children and assisting hubby Hemant in running the business – was chosen as Lady Transporter of the Year by Mahindra Navistar from the western region in January this year.
How was her ‘back to school programme’? “When many of us were put together in an educational institution environment, it was a novel experience. Yes, we learnt a lot. At times, some things went beyond our ken. Overall, it was worth the time spent,” she said. One major outcome of this initiative is that this team decided to float Forum of Indian Transporters (FIT) under which they will tackle some common issues. Excellent, collaborative effort.
Dayal Singh, editor of Transport News (weekly tabloid), is another friend I bumped into. His grandparents (from maternal and paternal side) came from Patiala three centuries ago and settled in Indore to service as ‘personal bodyguards’ to the Holkars. His own father was instrumental in setting up a Transport Bank where loans were given to transport operators exclusively because others were reluctant. The bank that began with 200 members has more than 6000 members today. Though many cooperative banks folded up in Madhya Bank, Transport Bank has grown by leaps and bounds. The biggest challenge for transporters in Madhya Pradesh, according to Dayal Singh, is “mall cutting”. I never heard of this term till I met him. On the Madhya Pradesh roads, hooligans quietly drop onto moving trucks to loot stuff and scoot. Of course, these hooligans work in groups. That reminded me of ‘tarpaulin Mani’ group which use to operate on the ex-sandalwood dacoit Veerappan’s territory near Mysore-Sathyamangalam ghat section. It is heard that Mani and his gang used to drop onto slow moving trucks covered with tarpaulin, slice open and steal white goods, etc. Highway looting is a big time business due to poor security. Needs more focus.
Great Leap Forward
“When you are in Chennai, meet Senthil Natarajan,” advised Capt. Pawanexh Kohli, the global cold supply chain stalwart and Chief Advisor to Ministry of Agricuture, Govt. of India. During his recent visit to Chennai, he had met him and was quiet impressed with what Senthil was up to. By the way, what is this guy up to? Senthil owns and runs a fresh fruit and vegetable outlet under the banner of Pazhamudhir Stores. Through his 40 outlets (19 in Chennai alone and rest across Tamil Nadu), he sells fresh vegetables and fruits at decent price. You are not fleeced and service is excellent compared to other outlets. I ran into him at his Ashok Nagar outlet that opened on the day of my visit. Interestingly, his father Natarajan was once upon a time selling vegetables and fruits in a push cart in the southern city of Coimbatore. Yes, he was a street vendor. Through hard work and business ingenuity, Pazhamudhir Stores is raking in Rs.170 crore. Bowled over by this success story, private equity honchos are eyeing a slice in the pie. Who says, hard work does not pay?
Yoki, doki!
Yokohama’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility coming up in Harayana may be a few months away before it goes on stream, but the Japanese tyre giant is not sleeping, its beefing up marketing presence. When I ran into M K Appachu, Regional Sales Manager, in Bangaluru, he was gung ho: “Today’s customers are demanding. They expect topnotch ambience even when they go shopping for tyres. We appreciate that because that matches our brand’s image,” says he. Yokohama India’s high-end showroom experience is seen to be believed. One’s skin may turn red from pinching oneself. Out of this world experience, indeed. Any doubts? Visit one near your city.