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The Golden Quadrilateral and more roads

Over the last couple of weeks I had a chance to travel by road in five north Indian states. What a pleasure? The road network is becoming really fantastic. I started on National Highway 8 and then on to NH 1, 21, 22, 70,72 and 88 apart from many state highways.

It is not the roads only that impressed me but also the new flourishing enterprises it has generated alongwith is the key to the trip. Many a voillages and towns that were cut off from nearby larger places are now well connected. Movement of people and goods is leading to a greater economic involvement and is helping in the inclusive growth mantra.

I was also witness to an amazing incident - towns of Rahon and Samrala are barely tens of kilometers apart but could take upto 5 hours by road a few years ago and now less than half an hour. I could see a stretch limousine (a genuine one and on top of it a Lexus) in a small village wedding in the prosperous "Doaba" region of Punjab. On being generously invited (despite being only a passerby) I found out that there is a car rental agency that has 10 stretch limos and all are imported in CBU condition.

I also witnessed the fury of the mobs as an aftermath of killing of one of their gurus. What amazed me was not the fury or madness (one has witnessed this on a few other occassions including post Blue Star, Babri, Mumbai bomb attacks etc) but that there were stalls put up by villagers to offer cold water to stranded people with all the hospitality. Milk came from nowhere for infants etc.

This is India. Land of paradoxes.

Despite living for more than 45 years she still surprises me.
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