Friday, May 04, 2007

Ye Hai India Meri Jaan !!

Have you ever traveled like this ?
Imagine waking up on a Monday morning in Chembur, Mumbai to find a massive Boeing 737 parked calmly outside your house !!

Yes, it’s true !! A scrapped 75-foot-long Boeing 737 belonging to India's private airline Air Sahara, minus its nose, tail and wings and placed on a trailer, has been parked in on the Chembur road off the Mumbai Pune highway when it was en route to Delhi.


The plane has become the centre of attraction with people coming from all over the city to take a look.
The common people have been fascinated with planes and never seen one so closely so it is fun to see an airplane on the roads when one is only used to seeing cars and auto rickshaws.

Not only them, some homeless people found a better use of it by converting it to a makeshift kitchen. And some even strung a clothesline where the plane's wings once were.
The quick ones with business mind found an opportunity to whisk away some parts of the plane until the police arrived yesterday to guard it and cover the luggage hatch with a piece of cloth.

Well, it all started at about 3 am on Sunday when the driver of a giant trailer carrying the fuselage of an Air Sahara plane out of the city asked for directions to the Mumbai-Pune highway. The aircraft was headed for Delhi where it will reportedly be used at a flight training academy.

Someone pointed the driver towards a left turn, which he trustingly took, only to end up driving past Duke's factory at Chembur to a point of no return. Entering a road off the main highway, the driver found himself hemmed in by two-storey buildings, garages and small shops, unable to turn the 75-foot monstrosity around. After that all the three people (driver, cleaner, helper) fled from the scene.

And the Mumbai’s Traffic Police seems to be at a loss as to how to move the mammoth aircraft, which is sitting on a trailer wedged in a bylane off the Eastern Express Highway, with hardly any space to manoeuvre.

Yesterday evening i.e. on Thursday evening, the Traffic Police met with UTC Carriers who is transporting the plane to discuss how to move the plane from the location. The deputy commissioner of Traffic Police said it will be moved at a time when there is relatively less traffic, in all possibility at late night, and is likely to be taken to Khopoli.
However, the facts state otherwise, as the enormity of the aircraft and the width of the lane may make the whole endeavour a difficult proposition.
As the trailer blocks one lane there has been traffic congestion on the narrow road. Rush of onlookers have also been steady since the word of an unusual sight had spread.

I can not help myself saying "Ye Hai India Meri Jaan !!"

Current song- Run Away – Linkin Park

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45 comments:

Aditi said...

damn i didnt know about this... damn!!
i am almost tempted to drive out there to take a look.. thanks for sharing it
and u're right only in india!!

Peter said...

What do you think will happen to the poor driver, cleaner and helper who fled? I hope they will keep their jobs? Anyhow, an interesting story... not yet finished. I guess you will revert.

Prashanth M said...

Yeah! read that on news paper y'day...

It happens only in India :)

Amey said...

...75-foot-long Boeing 737, has been parked in on the Chembur road ... when it was en route to Delhi.

I knew planes are parked in hangers... but on roads? That's a new for me. But then, minus nose and wings, I guess there is no other way for it to fly.

Would make for an interesting drive though ;)

Prax said...

well, i had the fortune to trail this plane at Dharavi on my way back from Bandra at 1.00 in the night!

mathew said...

well!! airplane fuselage being transported over road is not uncommon..Although you will see this in cities like Tolouse and Hamburg where they make aircrafts..

but the driver running away is quite uncommon!! ;-P

Ash said...

How interesting!

karoline in the morning said...

lol...perhaps with the price of fuel to fly, we here in canada, will drive our aeroplanes on the highways as well..

funny story..poor worker..

k

Cuckoo said...

Aditi,
Ha Ha.. you still have a chance. Rush !! It is waiting for you at the same place. ;)

Peter,
Welcome to my blog. This story has brought many newcomers here. :)

Well, they fled from the scene because they didn't want the wrath of the shopkeepers whose shops were obstructed by the giant 'vehicle'. In my opinion they’ll retain their jobs with their employers but are going to be punished by other authorities.
Just an example, according to the latest news.. the driver has been booked for obstructing free flow of traffic under the Mumbai Police Act and the Motor Vehicles Act since it was parked in a ‘No Parking‘ zone !! Ha Ha… Can you believe it ? It can happen only in India.

Thanks for your visit. Keep coming.

Prashanth,
Ha.. After a long time !! Yes, this type of chaos can happen only in India.

Fleiger,
Yeah, on the roads !! Ha Ha… it did have an interesting drive. Chembur is just a halting point. ;)

Cuckoo said...

PM,
Ahaa !! Then why don’t you give us some first hand information here ?? It’ll be nice to hear about your fortunate day.

Mathew,
Yes, of course I am aware of the airplanes being transported on the roads but not parking them on a busy narrow road and the poor driver running away !! ;)

Ash,
Yes, it is.

Karoline,
Ha Ha.. Looks like you are taking some hints from us Indians !! ;)

Thanks for your visit. Keep coming. I am yet to pay a visit to your blog. Very busy. :((

Ranjeet said...

Damn, I miss being in India to see it, almost a year back, I used to travel on EE Highway and Chembur! Thanks for sharing this news - did not know about it till read on your blog! :-)

phaseoutgirl said...

Hi Cuckoo,

Thanks for dropping by my site. Well, I have not lived in India, but travelled to Delhi so many times and have "family" there too, Indian friends who are part of my life.

I love this story of the plane! I was gonna wrote about it too, but you have captured it in a more funny way than I can ever have.

More visits here later.

cheers,
Cecilia

Merisi said...

That is hilarious! (In Austria, wide or long loads have to be accompanied by special vehicles front and back, probably to avert disasters like this.)
Too bad, police can't tow it! :-)))

Cuckoo said...

Ranjeet,
Thanks. Even I wanted to rush there not to see it, but the people’s reactions. :)

Alok,
Oh yes, why not ?
Well, was not that crazy about Ash-Abhi wedding, rather I didn’t have time but I guess this must have been fun to watch. On second thoughts, shall I go there today and bring first hand information ? ;)

Phaseoutgirl,
I welcome here on my blog. Oh you have a lovely name ;)
Nice to know about you.

And thank you for liking this piece of news.

Thanks for dropping by. Keep coming.

Merisi,
Yes, it is. Yes, we too have those header/trailer vehicles but only on hilly roads. This should have been handled similarly. I pity the driver.

Maverick said...

i guess i catched up late, neways im glad i didnt miss this news.this is hell lot of fun. im gonna say this to my friends for a laughter :)

Sharad Mathur said...

i saw it in the news.

yeh sab sirf india me hi hota hai!
true yeh hai meri jaan, INDIA [:)]

sharad

Prax said...

nothing much, looked like i was on the runway and the plane was taking its flight in reverse with a truck trapped under it frightened by the fact that Tiger was gallopping in front of it!!!

GMG said...

Is «this» going to fly in a training academy? Hope not...
Great shot, and great fun...

Cuckoo said...

Maverick,
Go ahead. Have fun !!

Sharad,
Welcome to my blog. Glad that you agree with me. :)

Thanks for dropping by. Keep coming.

PM,
Ha Ha.. that must have been fun to even think of !!

Gil,
Aah ! Welcome to my this blog. :)

Ha Ha… Are you scared now ? No, this scrap 737 was going to Delhi for some amusement park.

Thank you and keep coming to this blog as well. :)

Catmoves said...

Hilarious. I wonder how the pilot managed to land on that comparatively small truck?

Princess Banter said...

Whoaaaaaaaa -- that is mondo cool! I would love to see one of those being hauled up my street!!!

Sugarlips said...

Interestinggggggggggggg :)

Stay Beautiful...!

Jeseem said...

hey this is cool.
so mumbai roads have a new kind of vehicle :)
reminds me of when i was small
and went magnet hunting in a scrapped helicopter

Amey said...

I meant sitting in the cockpit while somebody drives the trailer...

That would be interesting drive ;)

Shrink Wrapped Scream said...

I love that song, which is lucky 'cos my son never stops playing it!

How surreal this story is, and heartwarming. I'm glad I stumbled across your site (through David), and look forward to dipping back in again.

Cuckoo said...

CatMoves,
Welcome here on my blog. Land ???? Well, we should go & ask him ;)

Thanks for your visit. Since you’ve liked my many archival posts as well, I look forward to see you more often. Keep coming. :)

Princess,
Loll..

Sugarlips,
Indeed. :)) Thanks.

Cuckoo said...

Jeseem,
Oh yeah, anything can be seen on Indian roads. Isn’t it amazing ?

Fleiger,
Ahaa !! yes, it would be fun specially people like you or me are sitting inside.

Carol,
Welcome here on my blog. Oh it is indeed !!

Thanks for stumbling here. ;) I look forward to see you more often.

Pijush said...

Its really Cool Cuckoo. It happens ONLY in India :-) Keep posting

Cuckoo said...

Pijush,
Welcome again !!

I agree and thank you.

rauf said...

i love my country so much that i don't even have a passport, nothing to be proud of. i would appreciate this more if it is parked by the side of a railway track. i have seen movies where the plane lands on a road with heavy traffic.

good that you grabbed your camera and took a picture. oh yes, ONLY IN INDIA

Sigma said...

I saw the pic in the newspaper. It is difficult to decide whether it is more funny or ironic? But the amusing part was the different uses people put it to .... wehave really innovative minds here in our country. what do you say ?

Unknown said...

Ahha ;) This sounds interesting. BTW the other day I dreamt of something similar and now it has come true... :o

kuntal saha said...

Yeh!!! rightly said...
Yeh hai India meri jaa!!!


thanks... a lot for your commets... now after your invitation i will drop in your blog now n then !!! :-D

david mcmahon said...

Hi Cuckoo,

Great to see so many of my friends have followed my link and visited your site.

That's what it's all about!

By the way, many thanks for your information about the malas and the two different types of jasmine. I even got an email from Switzerland telling me it was jasmine.

I'll be posting some more India pictures soon.

Take care,

David
http://david-mcmahon.blogspot.com/

Peter said...

I saw on the television here (yes it was shown also in France) that the plane has now been removed. One sightseeing point less, but there are so many others.

Bendtherulz said...

ROFL...hmmm why the heck u are crying when so much xciting things are happening in Mumbai...!!

Priya said...

Thaz real cute. Wonder how many in India really get a look at airplane closeby huh!!

Ajith Prasad Balakrishnan said...

Recently I came across a similar sight..There is a decommissioned submarine kept next to the road side at Vizag..Its said that it took around 4 yrs to brind that sub to the shore..Hope this Boeing doesnt turn out to be so problematic :)

Cuckoo said...

Rauf,
i love my country so much that i don't even have a passport.. Oh you are a true Indian then. ;)

i would appreciate this more if it is parked by the side of a railway track.. I will definitely convey the message to them. ;)
And it wasn’t clicked by me, I took ‘loan’ from net. ;)

Sigma,
Yes, it is ironic and we are just trying to laugh away that embarrassment.

we have really innovative minds here in our country.. Of course we have !! We are the leaders in that field. ;)

Vibhanshu,
It surely is. What was your dream if I may ask ?

Cuckoo said...

Kuntal,
thanks... a lot for your commets... now after your invitation i will drop in your blog now n then... Oh my bad. Had I known it before, I would have sent a hand written personal invitation card to you. :P I am so bad. Why couldn’t I think of this before ?? ;)

Keep comingggg.

David,
Yeah, Thanks a lot for that.

Waiting for more on India from you. Let me also know my country through someone else’s eyes. ;)

You too take care and keep coming.

Peter,
Yes it is removed now.
One sightseeing point less, but there are so many others… Hmm.. are you trying to make fun of my country ??

BTW, Do you eat pumpkin ? Kidding, ok ? It’s just that a nursery rhyme comes to my mind when I reply to you. :))

Enjoy and keep coming !!

Cuckoo said...

BTR,
Shhhhh.. don’t laugh. We are trying to hide our embarrassment here.

Priya,
Thanks. That’s a real cute.. Thanks to them, many people could see it.

Ajith,
I welcome you on my blog. Aah ! that must certainly have been a sight to see !! Ufff I missed it :(

No, I guess it was more fun compared to the problem, if we see the no. of people flocking to the site to see this giant on wheels.

Thanks for dropping by. Keep coming.

Shruti said...

Rightly said..
Yeh hai India meri jaan...

Slogan Murugan said...

Lovely story! wonderful capture

Cuckoo said...

Shruti,
Thank you.

SloganMurugan,
Welcome here on my blog. What shall I call you ? Slogan or Murugan ? Choice is yours.

Thank you. :)

Thanks for your visit. Keep coming.

Unknown said...

yup...

saw it!