In this edition, we bring you a vivid description of the second leg of MOTORINDIA’s Happiness Truck 3.0 campaign covering major pit-stops in the eastern and southern regions of the country
After a successful event at Shaktigarh in West Bengal, the Happiness Truck directed its way to Kolkata, a distance of 90.5 km. We drove via NH19 and took a halt in between to have dinner in a very fine restaurant. It took us around three hours to reach the place where we checked into a hotel and immediately went to sleep. The next day, on April 25, early morning we had our breakfast and left for the scheduled event in Khidirpur, Kolkata Transport Nagar. We got our setup ready with the two trucks that we we had from our sponsor partner BharatBenz. We were delighted to have Deep Chaudhari of BharatBenz and Baljeet Singh of Sangha Goods Carrier as our esteemed guests.
It was a wonderful meeting with the trucking community at the Transport Nagar. Moreover, the event’s highlight was that the drivers and operators had hands-on training on the demo vehicle sent by BharatBenz. We were enthralled by the active participation of the truck fleets owners, mechanics and operators at Khidirpur. In all, the ‘City Of Joy’ greeted Happiness Truck 3.0 with great enthusiasm. After spending a great deal of time in Kolkata we left for our next destination, Visakhapatnam. We took a halt in between for lunch and contemplated driving to a nearby destination to take rest in a hotel. But the spirit of our campaign team was unbeatable and finally decided to do an overnight journey drive straight to Visakhapatnam, a distance of 881.4 km from Kolkata.
We took a halt in between to rejuvenate ourselves, finished our dinner and got back on the truck. We drove via the Chennai – Kolkata highway and NH16, reaching our destination after 18 hours. It had been exciting but exhausting also and so we made straight for the hotel to rest awhile. Later that day we explored some nearby tourist attractions. It was a day of relaxation. On the morning of April 28, we were all geared up to experience what the ‘Jewel of the East Coast’ held for us. It was a bright and sunny day and we completed our setup in good time with the Happiness Truck all decked up for display.
We were honoured to have President M V Ramana of the Quarry Lorry Owners Welfare Association along with Joint Secretary Ram Krishna and Apaltaj VDM Giri of Tirri Transport as our dignitaries to grace the event. It was astonishing to experience great enthusiasm and to see the truck fleets in the best of their spirits. We had a wonderful and insightful talk about the BS VI model and how it is going to benefit the drivers, truck fleets and operators. We presented water bottles and key chains as a token of happiness to the trucking community. On the same day, after our event, we left for Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh. On our way, we took a break and our entire team had lunch together.
The following day, which was April 29, we were showered with loads of positive energy by the the ‘City of Poets and Art’. We began with fun activities to lighten up the environment. It was indeed an honour to have with us Shri Ramu, the distributor for Valvoline, along with Subrato Das of Excelite and Ram Babu, Joint Secretary of Rajamundry Lorry Owners Association. The vitality and support shown by the locals was really impressive. Later in the afternoon, post lunch, we left for Vijayawada via NH16, covering a distance of 159 km in about four hours. Vijayawada is rightly called the ‘Place of Victory’. We reached at a late hour at about 11 pm and there was nothing to be done but reach the hotel and go to sleep.
The next day, on April 30, we were all in a good mood to kick-start the day and reached the Transport Nagar of Vijaywada. We had an incredible meeting with our esteemed dignitaries, including Sales Manager Shri Sujit and Branch Manager Shri Kumar of Madhva Lubricants as well as Venkateshwar Rao, President, Automobile Mechanic Association; Shri Baapji, President, Automobile Technician Association; and Gopi Setty Veeravenaiya, Secretary, Lorry Owners Association. Our discussions with them also included sharing information about our partner brands. One of the important topics was the shift from BS IV to BS VI and how the local fleets had managed to overcome the challenges imposed by this transition. We finally concluded the Andhra Pradesh chapter on an amazing note. Andhra Pradesh was sizzling hot though and we had to be careful to keep ourselves hydrated.
We then left for our next campaigning spot, Nellore. A road trip comes with its enjoyment and a long drive is a refreshing experience for sure. Our driver drove the Happiness Truck via NH16 and it took us almost five hours to reach the wonderful city of Nellore, located on the banks of the river Penna. It was a fabulous experience to meet the local trucking community and we were floored by their zeal and enthusiasm. Immediately after Nellore was our next stop at Krishnagiri, a distance of about 360 km via NH48. It took us nearly seven hours to reach the ‘Mango Capital’ of India. The following day, we reached Transport Nagar where we once again displayed our truck.
We had Yash Dhandapaani, Secretary, Krishnagiri Town Lorry Multi Axle Owners Association along with Joint Secretary D Kathrivel, executive members Shri Krishnan and Shri Lakshman as well as Valvoline’s Area Manager Shri Karthik and Excelite’s Senior Sales Officer Shri Prejin to grace our event with their presence. In all, we had a glorious day in this city that included an informative discussion with the trucking community about all our partner brands and the implementation of BS VI. We got to know that truck fleets wanted the government to reduce the price of diesel as due to the increased prices they were facing lots of problems. After the event, we led our way to taste the delicious mango, which was wonderfully different in taste from the mangoes available elsewhere.
Then we left for our next stop Bengaluru. We covered the road journey of almost 91.4 km via NH44 and NH48. The weather changed during the course of the journey and it began to rain heavily. It was fun driving in the rain while listening to the radio and breathing in the cool air. We finally reached the ‘IT Capital’ of India, also referred to as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’. The following morning we left for Transport Nagar where, for the event, we had B Channareddy, President, AICGOA along with C Naveen Reddy, President, Federation of Karnataka Lorry Owners Association and Ravi Kumar, President, Karnataka Commercial Truckers and Earthmovers Association.
Also present were Shri Jagannath, Vice President, Transport Owner, Geeta Roadlines and Naveen Goda, Director, Sanjeevani Transport along with association member, Shri Govindraj of Shree Raj Transport Service, Valvoline’s Sales Manager Biju Raj, KT Telematics’ Business Development Manager Arun Kumar and Business Development Manager Shri Purushottam as well as Excelite’s Sales and Marketing Manager Shri Mallikarjun as our representatives. The trucking community greeted us warmly and during the event everybody actively participated in the activities while also exhibiting keen interest in our partner brands. We had an informative discussion about various innovations and ideas in the trucking sector related to BS VI. It was incredible meeting the members of the Federation of Karnataka Lorry Owners Association.
We then left for our next destination, Bijapur, around 524.8 km away from Bengaluru on the NH48 and NH50 highways. It was a long journey of almost 10 hours. The best thing about such road trips is the scenic views that you get to see and the different cuisines of each city or state. The following day we left for our event and set up the show where we we had with us Valvoline’s Business Executive Shri Basavraj along with Viresh Automobile’s Raju Nidoni and Valvoline’s distributor Shri Shahnawaz. We had an interview with the truck fleets, mechanics and operators to know about their association and also share information about the new technologies launched by Valvoline, Excelite, KT and BharatBenz. Post lunch we engaged in a photo shoot with some windmills in the background.
Hitting the road once again, we also took some time off to give the Happiness Truck a real good wash. And then we were on our way to Belgaum, driving via NH52 and the Bachi – Raichur highway and the Belagavi road. It was a distance of 213.8 km and took us almost 4.5 hours to reach the place. Dinner was an excellent affair with a choice of some traditional dishes. The next day, at the Transport Nagar of Belgaum we had the participation of Valvoline’s Business Executive Shri Basavraj and distributor Maharaja Agency’s Shri Anirudh. Incidentally, Belgaum is well-known for its temple architecture and is one of the 100 cities chosen for the Smart Cities Project. After finishing the event we left for Maharashtra, 583.9 km away that took about 12 hours to reach.
More of our Maharashtra road trip in the next issue. Stay tuned!