Nano takes India by storm; BMC worried

Sindhu Bhattacharya & Puneet Nicholas Yadav

There was a frenzy at the Tata pavilion at Pragati Maidan

NEW DELHI: A day after Ratan Tata unveiled the Nano, the “one-lakh car” seemed to be the only topic of conversation, the one big obsession for people in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities in the country. While people who had never thought of buying a car now seemed to scent an opportunity, municipal authorities everywhere were agonising about what the car would do to an already chaotic traffic (see box).

In fact one prophecy, that the car would jam the roads, was fulfilled on Friday itself in the capital. The Auto Expo 2008 was open to the general public from 2 pm, but the crowds started swelling at the entry gates of New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan from 9 am itself. From the young to the not-so-young, everyone had only one thing in mind: a dekko at the ‘lakhtakia’ car.

A group of young boys wearing blue and grey school uniforms were seen pleading with the security guards to let them in.

They had no idea which hall housed the Tata Nano, but had bunked school anyway to get in. Many people took a day off from work to get in bright and early; yet others were seen asking media people to get them a business visitor pass.

“I didn’t have any plan to buy a car for some time now, simply because I was not too sure whether I could afford one. But now, I am sure I can. The Nano has suddenly made me realise that my dream of owning a car is within reach,” said Harish Sharma, who works in a public relations firm in Hyderabad.

“In fact, after the car was unveiled in Delhi, a number of my friends and colleagues who do not own a car have now started thinking of buying one. This is what I call a dream car!” Sharma added.

Inside Hall 11, where three models of the Nano are on display amid tight security – only select media people are being allowed to go near the cars – tempers ran high. A young hunk could be seen mouthing obscenities at the security guards for shooing him away from the dais while a four-year-old girl was begging papa to hoist her on his shoulders to get a look at the cute little car. From every entry point to the Tata pavilion, waves of people were being pushed towards the Nano stall and many found it difficult to leave the hall without getting bruised.

The frenzy over the Nano did not end with securing an entry to the Tata pavilion; it resulted in much traffic chaos, too, outside the venue. All roads leading to Pragati Maidan were choked from early morning and many cars were seen turning away, their drivers exasperated by the time taken to cross barely a 200-metre stretch.

While the traffic pile-up on the route to Pragati Maidan may be normal by Delhi standards, many experts have expressed reservations over the kind of congestion this affordable car could cause on already choked city roads soon.

A senior official of the Delhi Traffic Police quipped: “It would be stating the obvious when I say that the Nano will cause more congestion on the already overcrowded roads of the Capital. You never know, it may become the auto rickshaw of Delhi!”.

Delhi’s transport minister Haroon Yusuf also appeared a tad wary of the traffic problems the Nano may cause. “We cannot stop people from buying the car but they have to find the space to drive and park on the already congested roads of Delhi”.

Already, Delhi has the highest vehicle population among the four metros at 50 lakh vehicles. Another 8-10 lakh vehicles float in and out of the city every day, leading the terrific traffic snarls.

But ordinary folks had little time for pessimism. Everywhere in India, the reaction to the launch was: the common man on the road can “now dream and actually own a car”.

Sukhbeer Singh, an auto-rickshaw driver in Delhi, said his vehicle cost him much more than the Nano. “An auto cost from Rs.300,000 to Rs.400,000 while the Nano comes for a convenient Rs.100,000 only,” Singh said while comparing his auto and the new car.

“That’s why a couple of us are thinking, why not buy a Nano instead of an auto-rickshaw? It’s economical and commuters would any day love being driven in a car than in a three-wheeler,” he said, as his fellow auto-rickshaw drivers nodded in unison.

For girls, the car is a real boon. “I was pestering my dad for a two-wheeler for the past four months. Travelling on public transport can get on your nerves. And then, of course, there is no dearth of eve-teasers who lurk around. Having your own transport saves the headache and makes you feel independent,” said Sagarika Sharma of Guwahati.

Similarly, Shaina, a resident of Bangalore, said she could hardly wait to lay her hands on a Nano. “It’s so convenient and the best part is that it’s affordable. It truly defines the phrase ‘small is beautiful’!” she said.

Abhinav Nanda of Delhi said that he would rather go for Nano than for a two-wheeler.

“The Nano, since it’s a car, is more safe to drive than a two-wheeler. It fulfils the aspirations of the lower middle class,” he said.

“Since it’s so affordable, more and more people are going to buy it. India is adding millions of cars to its roads each year. With this, the number will shoot up...can you then imagine the chaos on the roads?” said Arpita Sen, who works for an NGO in the capital.

(With Indo Asian News Service reports)