SHRINIDHI HANDE writes from Madras: During the past year, I have travelled a lot more than in my previous years. I visited Bidar, Hampi, Hoskote, Jog falls, Shimoga, Mysore, Talakad, Srirangapatna, Udupi and Maravante in Karnataka; and Bekal and Wynad in Kerala.
What makes Kerala tourism score big time over Karnataka tourism?
Or, where does Karnataka need to improve in order to achieve increased revenue from tourism?
# Build better roads: Excellent road connectivity is extremely critical to ensure the comfort of tourists and this is where Karnataka never seems to improve upon. When someone experiences bad roads in a State and tells/writes about them on internet forums/ blogs, the damage caused to the image of the State will be permanent. If prospective tourists read on the internet that roads to a particular place are bad, the probability of them dropping plans of visiting that place is very, very high.
There may be a few like me who might enjoy off-roading, but most tourists and visitors prefer not to travel on a road that may take them to a hospital at the end of the journey, instead of the intended destination, due to bad condition or non-existence of roads altogether.
Government after government, no one seems to understand the importance of good roads. Even if the roads are improved later, it is extremely unlikely that the user who mentioned about bad roads will notice it and update his content accordingly. So information that roads are bad remains permanently and deters prospective tourists.
Some of my experiences with respect to roads in Karnataka:
Hyderabad to Hampi, January 2007: Roads were excellent all through Andhra Pradesh. From the moment we entered Karnataka, bad roads started. Not just for a few kilometres, but the entire stretch totaling 60-70 km. We could have reached Hampi by breakfast time, but it was lunch time when we actually made it to Hampi, resulting in loss of half a day. Heavy duty trucks carrying granite and iron ore were blamed for bad condition of roads.
Status of NH 17, from Mangalore to Kundapur, Mangalore and Udupi district, March 2008: When I had visited, the national highway was in its all time worst condition. When I visited again in September 2008, it was again in the same condition. I learnt that the road was repaired once in between but monsoon spoiled it again.
Why is that we are not able to build a road that can survive for few years? Why blame trucks and monsoon for our inability to lay stronger roads? Aren’t rest of the states affected by rain and trucks? How are they managing?
Nonexistent roads between Talakad, Somanathpura and Shimsa, Mysore, June 2008: Roads leading to above said places were literally nonexistent when we visited during June. A journey of a few kilometres took a few hours—damage to vehicle and discomfort to people is another thing.
Nagarahole Forest road that connects Manthanavady (Kerala) and KD Kote, Mysore-September 2008: While we were returning from Wynad trip, the roads were excellent in Wynad district, but the moment we crossed Karnataka border and entered Nagarahole reserve forest, the nightmare started.
Again no roads at all. Deep pot holes, big rocks, water filled ponds all welcomed us in place of what was supposed to be a road. Localities told us that this road has been in the same condition for the past 30 years.
Can you believe that? Not just one or two places, the entire stretch of 20+ km, as if it is not made for vehicles but for forest animals. We were in a SUV and somehow managed.
What about localities who have to travel on this roads every day? What do they do when they are in emergency situations, say, a medical emergency? We were one-time visitors and could take it as just a bad experience. Imagine the plight of bus drivers who have to drive on these roads every day.
Even the Shiradi ghat road that connects Bangalore and Mangalore, is believed to be in its original bad condition, though it was reformed earlier this year.
Just imagine what impression outside tourists will get when they suddenly see pathetic roads soon after they enter Karnataka (particularly after cruising through nice roads in neighboring states)? Is that a good way of welcoming tourists into the state?
Unless roads are upgraded to world class (that may be too much to expect-shall I say ‘decently motorable’?) tourism will never really take off. Those manning the government and tourism department better understand this. Only good roads in Karnataka currently is the Golden Quadrilateral and the Bangalore-Mysore expressway.
# Stop fleecing parking charges and entry fees: All over Wynad, we had to pay only Rs 10 as four-wheeler parking charges, and even entry tickets were at Rs 10 per head.
On the contrary, most of the places around Mysore-Talakad, Somanathapura, Srirangapatna and others, this amount was more than 2-3 times, at Rs 20-30 per vehicle or even more. After reaching a place with lots of trouble and pain surviving very very bad roads, someone suddenly appears in front and demands 20-30 rupees, it naturally raises a concern: why are we paying this much when there’re no facilities at all?
Also, in places like Srirangapatna and Talakad where there were multiple places within few kms of each other, money was demanded at each places. I don’t think that is fair.
# Place curbs on annoying hawkers and guides: No one bugged us anywhere in Wynad to hire their services, say guides, photographers, hawkers etc. But at many places in Karnataka (Hampi is the worst place in this aspect where entire town is determined to loot the tourists, especially international tourists, as much as possible) guides, photographers and hawkers would surround us the moment we got down from the vehicle and insist that we hire their services.
Even after telling in clear terms that we’re not interested, they would continue to tail us with their special offers/services. This irritates any tourist a lot.
Unethical practices like quoting exorbitant prices, insisting on “little extra” even after paying the previously agreed amount all create a huge negative impression, about the State and its people. On the contrary, there were people giving free assistance inside Edakkal caves in Wynad, who explained about the significance of symbols carved on the rocks.
# Get web savvy: I find Kerala tourism official website more informative, well organized and lively with regular updates and high level of user interaction by means of forums and message boards (these can be improved though), compared to Karnataka tourism website which has a traditional flash animation and some generic info.
# Get responsive: I remember reading Vishveshwara Bhat‘s editorial in Vijaya Karnataka long time ago, as to how Kerala tourism officials promptly responded to him for an article about a place in Kerala within days of its publication. That kind of sensitivity and responsiveness Karnataka Tourism is yet to develop.
By addressing some of these issues, I believe, Karnataka tourism can increase its tourism revenues manifold.
Kerala Tourism is just amazing. Thanks to Dr .Venu Secretary of Kerala tourism. The man behind everything the tourism stands for. As for as Karnataka tourism goes its just another Govt office. The most annoying part is the Vehicle Fee. And for localities it annoys you so much, most of the times we have turned back. The high prices are because there is a huge competition during bidding for these parking lots,lot of politics specially in Southern parts of Karnataka with lot of bribes.
http://www.sapgreen.com
May I add one more thing – cleanliness
Even in a city like Bengaluru, I find men urinating on the road side.
Another important point is the level of involvement of localites in tourism. While the government can initiate some measures, most well known tourist destinations thrive because of communities of people from the area who can assist or guide travellers without any monetary consideration. This could mean simple things like helping with clear directions or recommending good eating places. I have experienced this in several states including Himachal and Kerala. One can notice such an attitude in Mysore and Bengaluru as well. But some of the other places that are away from bigger cities would benefit more from such an approach. Perhaps, making localites stakeholders in the region’s tourism can be the way to go.
wtf. parking lots in crowded places fleece you regardless of where in the world it is or where in the world you are from. Why do you compare some godforsaken Wynad with Mysore and ‘patna?! Just a few months ago, I went on a more-than-a-week long trip to Hornadu, Sringeri, Kukke and then some Gokarna and Karwar. We didnt get fleeced anywhere.. in fact, we didnt pay a pie for parking anywhere!
And the Karwar jungle lodges (www.junglelodges.com) has got to be the most beautifully constructed and maintained (Hats off to Gundu Rao!) government undertaking anywhere in India! Once on the houseboat in Devbagh (Karwar), I knew exactly how much Kerala’s houseboats were overrated and hyped. The crystal clear waters of the Kali and the mind boggling number of exotic birds clearly blew away any fond memories of Kerala’s dirty backwaters I had from a couple of years ago. The food was so great, it could have given the MTRs and Hallimanes a run for their money if it were not for the fact that it was a one-chef kitchen on a houseboat. The airconditioned rooms on the houseboat were spic and span. The unspoilt shores of Karwar was a revelation. I can’t for the life of me imagine what it is about Goa that people keep raving about. No wonder it is said to have left Tagore stunned. And inspired.
HAWKERS AND GUIDES – Puhleeeze! Hawkers and guides tailing tourists is not just a Karnataka or Indian but a universal phenomenon. There’s no running away from it. If anything, the problem is relatively less in Karnataka compared to other states. You didn’t find any in Wayanad and I didn’t find any in Kudremukha and Karwar or Dandeli. Hampe is a heritage city and I for one, would miss guides if there were none. The most gratifying and enlightening experience I’ve had of historical cities is the one time we actually hired a guide to show us around Halebidu. We were so happy with him that we actually paid him twice of what he’d asked for. And talking of guides, I’ve had guides follow me tirelessly in Cochin too. My worst experiences with ‘pandas’ was in Rameshwara (in southern Tamilnadu) and Guruvayur in Kerala. In Rameshwara, they’re all over you before you’ve even got off the train!
ROADS – Apart from the fact that you’re once again selectively blind to any amount of bad, “non-existant” roads in other states, I must also point out that the condition of national highways in a state depend less on the state government and more on their relationship with those in power at the center. So before you blame “Karnataka”, pin some of it on the vishwamanava Kannadigas who will contrive to elect BJP when the rest of the country elects Cong or elect Dala when the rest of the country elects BJP. And talking of Andhra-Ktaka border.. the road from Mantralaya Road station to Mantralaya is literally “aa devarigE preeti”! And the roads in Kerala are the narrowest in the world. so stop fibbing about roads as if nobody else has seen places.
WEB SITE – what you find “more informative”, I find “cluttered”. What you dismiss quickly as “traditional flash animation and some generic info”, I find more than adequate and pleasing. and btw, seems like you don’t realize, but its almost 2009 now… you’d have to be an idiot to take the trouble of registering on a state tourism website “forum” to get info that can be obtained much faster by a simple post on a Kerala (or Wayanad) community on orkut.
and your last bit about some Kerala official responding to Bhat makes no sense whatsoever. You might want to read up on this –>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasty_generalization though.
sumne swarasyavaagi irali anta baayige band haage baryOdalla swami. wallow in your cynicism all you want but please stop taking readers for fools.
I found thsi on the net.
Kerala: Roads in god’s own country or roads in hell?
Kerala is considered among the most developed states on India. Still, the condition of the roads in Kerala is becoming worse day by day. This article focuses on their condition..
CJ: Sreehari K.g , 20 Oct 2007 Views:749 Comments:2
GOD’S OWN country – that’s what Kerala is called. The condition of the city roads in Kerala is pathetic. People find it difficult to travel on these roads. The result of their travel is severe backache and body pain.
The National Highway, particularly the NH 47, which runs through some parts of Tamil Nadu and the southwest coast of Kerala, is full of bumps and potholes. Cochin is one among the major cities that is facing this situation. The people of the city even confine their shopping to the inner areas of the town due to this reason.
Thiruvananthapuram also suffers from the same situation. The roads near the Bakery Junction area have been ‘under construction’ since the past one and a half years! An experience of travelling on these roads will take us back to the times of bullock cart rides.
The condition becomes even worse when rains hit the areas. The roads become flooded and people can literally sail their boats (if they happened to own one) on the waters that rise in the East Fort and Thampanoor (which are the central areas in Thiruvananthapuram) areas.
The Public Works Department (PWD) and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), blame the rains for the critical condition of roads! The state government has not yet implemented any of the solutions that they had said they would. The common man can just hope that the roads would be ready some day.
Another major problem that adds more knots to the rope is the traffic. The traffic in Kerala is growing day by day. With urbanisation, every house has at least one car these days. The roads are not wide enough to occupy the ever-growing vehicular population. Thiruvananthapuram, which says that it is on its way to becoming a metropolitan city, has not implemented any measures to construct a flyover or an underpass. Of course, there is a single underpass in the city, which is hardly used by the people!
The central government should take more interest in managing the National Highways.
According to ‘The Hindu’, September 14, 2007 (Friday) edition, the Finance Minister T
M Thomas Isaac said that the Government had already completed the measures required to speed up the repair and maintenance of the roads in the State. He also said that some roads had gone without repair and maintenance for a pretty long time because of confusion about whether they came under the PWD or the local self-government institutions. He also said that his department had given administrative sanction to the PWD for using Rs 320.65 crores for the upkeep of roads in the state. The local bodies have an allocation of Rs 152 crores for road maintenance. According to Isaac, all these issues will be sorted out by Tuesday (September 18, 2007).
The condition of the roads must be taken into serious consideration and measures must not only be declared, but also implemented. The neighbouring states of Kerala have better roads. Hopefully, at least the next generation would see proper roads and smooth travel, rather than get the feeling of going on a bullock cart in a bus or a car.
# Get web savvy:
i think kstdc.net(official tourism website) is a very poorly done website where half of the links don’t work. Last time i tried getting some info on the package tours that are presented on the home page,all the links gave an 404 error. This is happening during Mysore Dasara where most of the people are looking at Karnataka for info. I just the website its still in the same condition.
below is atypical link
http://kstdc.nic.in/ctours03.html
regarding Parking charges Agra is the worst place! After all to see a TOMB!
I agree to some part of the comments. Karnataka should involve locals in a large scale in tourism industry. It would generate jobs for locals.
Karnataka’s civil servants are not bothered to improve tourism in Karnataka. Many of them need training to improve tourism without damaging historical or natural heritage abundant in Karnataka.
I have seen bad roads in Andhra Pradesh too. Stop cribbing about Karnataka roads as if it is the only state which has bad roads.
Males using roads/ high wallls etc as urinals is an ugly practice and is omnipresent, not just restricted to Bengaluuru.
This practice of urinating in public places is rampant in New Delhi, Old Delhi, Agra, Hyderabad and the list is unending.
I agree with the author. Roads in karnataka are terrible. I keep travelling to sringeri and the roads have been pathetic for ages. Every year the roads are made up and after one monsoon the roads are so bad that one doesnt feel like driving. Its sheer torture. BTW – parts of NH are in much better condition. One of the points mentioned by a contractor henchman was that with 40% of contract to be paid upfront as bribes, no contractor will ever do a good job. Everyone starting from the lowly AEE upwards to the big men sitting on ambedkar veedhi have a share of this. So why would they care? and they travel in Innovas or better cars or helicopters – so why would they even care?. This country has gone to the dogs and karnataka takes the top spot.
Karnataka truely lags behind other states as far as roads go. Roads are excellent Tamil Nadu and far better than Karnataka in Andhra and Maharashtra. Cost of petrol and Road Tax are the highest in Karnataka. Tourism or no, it’s time the government did something about the roads.
HAWKERS & GUIDES >> u say this is worst in k’nataka..?! Seems u havent seen much places around (though u wrote like u have seen much places..!). Go to Palani temple & u will see actual GOONDAS who pretend to be priests. Before u get down the vehicle in “Shani Shingapur” (Maharastra) the ‘pandas’ will be all over you with wet “dhotis”. If u say u don’t want their help, they will bless u with their foul mantras..! Go “Guruvayur”….. Same story continues. Go to Rameswaram…. Pandas will literally be “Nakshatrika’s”..!! Its same everywhere….! So…. Just don’t blame karnataka… I would say some temple cities in k’taka are much much better than other places…!
I will agree with you on bad roads…. Thoguh k’taka is not the only state with bad roads..!
The entire country, in general, has terrible roads, with very few exceptions. A friend of mine, who is from Kerala, was telling me the other day that Kerala’s roads are terrible and we (Kannadigas) should stop cribbing about bad roads in Karnataka. According to him, the Bangalore-Mysore road is ‘heaven’!!
While that might be a little exaggarated, and on the other hand, we do have terribly bad roads in Karnataka, it is not a Karnataka-specific phenomenon. Try travelling on the Kolkata-Ranchi road once..
But the point is: we should stop comparing ourselves with other states – as though Kerala is a benchmark. Believe me, it is not. Instead, focus on doing the very best you can, set European standards as the benchmark, try to live up to those standards.
That is what we need to be focusing on, considering that we Indians claim to be on the road to ‘Superpower Status’.
How about this – Can we convert this public urination as a tourist attraction. This is something unique in India (and probably the indian subcontinent). We need to preserve our heritage. After all with all this hype and talk of Global Warming and ecology stuff – urine is an organic waste which can enrich the soil.
This mail is meant for those who keep complaining, cribbing about Karnataka/Bengaluuru.
If you have a possibility of locating yourself to the state which you claim has better roads (better everything) than our Karnataka, please do that.
Stay in peace!
Best
Except for roads, I don’t agree with other points of Shrinidhi. Roads are great, and thanks to public awareness, the corruption levels are pretty low in Kerala. When you have people questioning every act, the lawmakers and contactors are very careful about quality of work. I am told when roads are laid, people around nearby areas (mostly jobless) keep a watch on the quality of work undertaken. So quality is guaranteed, thanks to vigilant public.
Can we find this in Karnataka? “Enadru madkondu haalagi hogli” will be the common rant. Kerala is a communist state, and cost of living is pretty low compared to Karnataka. You can’t fleece Rs30 for car parking in tourist spots over there. Next day you will see a hartal and possibly a state-wide bundh a few weeks later. It works that way.
All said and done, Karnataka is a tourism goldmine. We need right people at right places to get started. That’s it.
Kishor,
Dont write off Kerala as a communist state. It’s the first states where coalition started and by rotation LDF led by Commies and UDF led by Congress rules. When UDF rules plum posts go to Minority Muslim league.
***
@ Shantarama.. Drink more water please!
Nice to see so many comments- both supportive and non supportive. My writing was based on the places I had visited (listed in the post) Yes, there will be exceptions in all comparisons.
My intention was not to criticize Karnataka but to trigger a debate on how Karnataka tourism can improve for a more tourist friendly state.
Thanks everyone.
Sisya,
Super riposte!
Blessed-Treasure-Vat
Your good intentions are noted; strive for a balance in your next post. Thank you.
If one dares to drive to Somnathpur, Jog falls and Shivanasamudra, One thing will become very clear. We don’t have tourism as a policy and don’t care for their wellbeing.Tourists have gone back to their places and have recommended their friends NOT to visit these places if they care for their backs! Even the road to KRS is not of World Standard when one comes to see the World-famous Dasara! District Minister wants to spend Rs. 100 Crores ( ahem!) for the next Dasara which can only mean more work for Justice Santosh Hegde which also turns futile in the end.
1,Instead of lighting the entire city for 10 days, why not create better lighting area by area for the entire city which resembles a dark dungeon for the other 354 days and still tourists come in to test their backs?
2.Instead calling for tenders evry year to erect stalls ( More work for SH) ,why not create permanent exhibition grounds as in Pragati Maidan in Delhi?
3. If the Minister is bothered, she must get the Sound N Light programme released which is dodging everybody after crores of money has been spent on it.
@ Sisya
If you think Karnataka tourism is at its best and nothing else can be done to attract more revenue by means of tourism, then I don’t have anything to say. Else we need to discuss how we can improve, at least w.r.t neighboring states.
This post was just an attempt in that direction, though you may feel I wrote it to criticize Karnataka or to satisfy my writing urge.
Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy should be called to set Dharna, if Karnataka lays sound road on existing kutcha raod in forest areas, what will happen to the ecosystem that is growing on these kutcha roads? Frogs/fishes in ponds that are in the middle of so called roads? Herbs and ferns growing on these kutcha roads? That is why we are not upgrading the roads. We have best on road ecosystem in the world!
Perhaps the roads in the tourist places are good, like Srinidhi said about Wayanad. I have seen the roads to Munnar hill station in Idukki district is also good. Apart from that, most of the roads in Kerala are in a bad shape. The government needs to take good care of it, but they choose to ignore. If the Govt had taken care of it, the tourism would increase even more in Kerala.
I always wonder why almost all Indians are so ultra-sensitive to criticism of any kind? If one criticizes India, even if the criticism is fair, Indians are immediately up in arms. If one critizes Bangalore, he is told to shut up and ‘go back to his home state’.
If an American journalist (for example) writes a biased and half-truthful article, I appreciate that there will be some irritation and people will raise their voice. But when an Indian provides an honest criticism, someone who is very much a stakeholder in India’s progress, and who wants to make things better, he is lambasted too!!
What the hell? Shrinidhi Hande is an Indian, a Kannadiga, and he is damned well entitled to criticize what he feels is amiss in Karnataka. Are the roads in Karnataka good? Apart from stretches of NH4, NH7, NH48, SH17 and a few other roads, the rest of the roads are pathetic. Don’t start jumping up and down shouting, “Oh, other states are worse, other states are worse”. Karnataka’s roads are pathetic, and something needs to be done about it.
Kerala’s web site is much better, there is absolutely no question about it. It is a different matter that “In 2009, who would post queries on a Govt. Web Site”, that is not the point.
@Vinay
At least Indians allow criticism. In some East Asian Countries, they dont allow criticism. If you ever criticise you will be a great looser.
Yes. I have seen American’s democracy and their respect for freedom!! Great!!
Bad roads, ill mannerd people are not restricted to Karnataka alone. It’s wrong to project as if everything with Karnataka/Bengaluuru is wrong and ridden with problems.
Constructive criticism is always welcome.
I have travelled in AP, TN as well last month. The roads are not that great. They are roads just like you see in Karnataka: good, bad, potholed, etc.
India has not so good investment on infrastructure.
For the complete kerala guide check http://www.keralaguide.co.in You can get all informations on kerala hotels, kerala driving directions, kerala destinations, road maps and travel distances
@ Dr Sree Reddy,
Agreed that there’re bad roads elsewhere.
But should we
Option A: Convince ourselves that we need not do anything to improve the roads as roads in neighboring states are equally bad
or
Option B: Compare ourselves to a slightly higher benchmark (of places having good roads) and try to match/exceed that ?
Many seems to be of the opinion, since these kind of problem persists all over India let us adjust with it and not blame Karnataka. My opinion is we should set a standard by having good roads and facilities, than taking comfort in saying “its the same everywhere-nothing can be done”
Srinidhi Hande and the forever holier-than-thou Vinay,
Nobody is against criticism or critics. What boggles the mind, however, is that you seem to think that critics themselves are or ought to be above criticism! Neither the critic nor his critique/criticism can be above critique/criticism. If you want to critique something. Critique it. If you want to criticise something.. criticise it. But if you’re doing it in a public forum, don’t for a minute expect that your critique/criticism/cynicism/whining will be lapped up by everyone in the audience. And don’t for a minute assume that the audience is incapable of discerning between whining/cynicism and criticism.
If you want to discuss what needs to be done to improve Ktaka tourism, then do that by all means. Just don’t insult your audience’s intelligence by couching everything in terms of Kerala’s “achievements”! To say “improve Karnataka’s roads”, you don’t have to say “We should learn from Kerala and improve our roads”!!! wtf! that is at once both factually incorrect (Kerala has equally, if not more, horrible roads) and an insult to your audience’s intelligence.
If you want to crib about guides and pandas in Ktaka, just do so! Don’t ask us to learn from an equally bad or worse Kerala! If you want to whine about the quality of Kannada movies, just do so.. Just don’t insult us with a “learn from Bollydawood or Konga or Gultiwood”!!! If you want to criticize the Bajrang Dal, just do so. Only make sure you don’t ask us in the same breath to believe everything Daijiworld writes or try to convince us that the charges of “conversion by deceit and allurement” is fiction.
The bottomline is, don’t be a hypocrite and you won’t be called for it.
Having said that, is there any room for improvement in Ktaka tourism? YES!! There’s plenty of room for improvement. Is there anything we can learn from our neighbouring states? YES!! We need to learn and imbibe some of their fanaticism.
If there is any one thing in anything we need to learn from our neighbours, it is their fanaticism and their xenophobic intolerance of everything non-local. We need to learn from them and either create our own regional party or learn to lick the right asses at the right times. That is what we need to learn from them. Not how they maintain their roads or handle their pandas or script their movies.. coz surely, in those dept., there’s nothing they can teach us.
@Shrinidhi Hande
Why should you bother about other’s roads?
Instead of writing to Churumuri, you should have sent letter(s) with the photographs of the roads you travelled to the Public Works Department and all the babus or may be a TV channel.
Best is to lodge a protest with the concerned authorities with your photographs and demand why the roads are in such condition?
Did you ever complain to the local city/taluq officials incharge of the roads?
(If every user keeps complaing and may be bring it to the attention of media, then things may change)
We should see what is good for us and how our budget is used and how to keep up the roads in good condition: should be our first consideration.
We are old/educated/experienced enough to distinguish between what is good and bad. Cant we see that potholed roads are bad for us/our vehicles?. We all know that.
If a road is constructed estimating the number of users at 10 to 15, then will be contsructed accordingly. Every year in summer season, roads maintenance use(d) to take place.
But now the same road more than 100 users use. What will happen to it?
The budget allotted to a road with 10 to 15 users capacity is different from that of a road with 100 users.
In addition, a city like Bengaluuru which used to have sevearl natural Keregalu (lakes) and all those lakes are buried and turned into residential areas. What will happen to the rain water? Where will it go?
Obviously it will flow on the roads affecting the tar.
Doorada mara nunnege kaanisutthe anthare.
Mr. Hande brings in totally valid points here and we have xenophobic venom spewed at him. Sisya’s comments and the blog that he has linked in his screen name show that he is a Raj Thackeray wannabe.
Shrinidi Hande is somebody who lives to see better future, people like Sisya are rigid to such beliefs. Its a greater loss that such an important topic highlighted by Hande will die over these responses.
The mother of all such problems is understanding the following situation.
“Even if Shrinidi had approached the appropriate Govt Dept to highlight this issue, what would have happened”…
a) We know about this, its on the agenda to set things right
b) The concerned persons will look into your letter, thank you
c) It was the previous govt which sat idle
d) You are wasting you time with this, just do something useful (i think you are idle)
e) Can you get more people to support this, so it will be highlighted better
f) lastly, even if it goes to the right dept head, he/she would do a visit and get reporters and make statements which will be just another useless/tasteless speech.
Whatever, Iam trying to say is .. Anybody can describe a problem in length… but who will strive to finish this by giving the solution.. WHO WORKS ON THE SOLUTION!!!
@baduku
Shrinidhi higlighted the problems according to you. Has he come out with any solution? Just comparing with other state’s roads and saying those better does not solve the problem, I guess.
What about you?
Did you give any solution to the problem?
You are actually discouraging people not to take action or look for solution by painting a gloomy picture of anticipated responses.
I am a Kannadiga from Kasargod…I travel everyday from Kasargod to Mangalore…The author has some valid points.But the main reason for the issues is the corruption among government officials in Karnataka.There is corruption in Kerala too ,but it is much lower than Karnataka .
@Dr. Sree Reddy,
If you read the post carefully, you’ll notice that each of the bullets in bold mentioned by the author are the solutions to the problems mentioned.
@Kolike ranga
Thanks. But can they be solutions?.
Shrinidhi Hande wants parking charges at 10 rupees I think it is very less.
Now a days a cup of coffee at a very ordinary hotel costs 20 eupees or so.
About the corruption levels, we can not say this state/that state is less.
Corruption is there all over India. Since we know about our state better, we tend to think it is The Worst place.
About the hawkers: If you ever visit Agra: the hawkers will build a tomb for tourists by fleecing them. Varanasi:they will take away everything form you and thithi maadibidutthare.
We dont have proper rules and neither sufficient education to provide in Tourism.
Excellent blog ….Why don’t you advertise your blog a bit more so that many more people read about it?
Keep writing.
why compare with kerala? kerala is not really a tourism friendly state. inside their mind ,they are hate mongers-
hi iam mba tourism student iam basically from gulbarga i am doing my mba @ pondicherry central university…………….u said right that our karnataka is very much behind to impliment the things which have been planned regarding tourism ………….karnataka is a land of rich heritage but unfortunate thing is that we could not able to bring this one in to no 1 position in india…………………..as a responsible tourism student i would say that this has to be done…………………
thank you!!!
Tamilnadu has got excellent road connectivity. So Mr.Srinidhi come and visit this place fast and enjoy.
missed the place
KOLLI HILLS
kerala is next kashmir..all muslim terrorist there