Back to Reality

Pune-Solapur Highway Project - paving at km69

Sigh... I’m back in this hellhole called the Pune-Solapur Project. It is especially difficult after a trip back home to Malaysia, especially if it’s only a short friggin 8 day trip.

Didn’t have time for so many things that I wanted to do, didn’t have time to savour so many of the local food which I missed after such a long stay in ‘hellhole’, didn’t have time for the long planned trip to the east coast with the family... didn’t have time for a relaxing stay at home with the wife and the little monster, didn’t watch one friggin movie in Malaysia, (something we always thought of doing, ...passing the little critter to his granddad, and I and the wife running to the cinema to watch a movie, decently), didn’t meet so many friends and relatives...

That’s life, unfortunately. Still plodding on in Daund, thought this Project will end much earlier than what we’ve achieved now, ...only about 60%, ...when will we reach 100%, 2014???!!?

Anyway, since I’m over with my cave-themed posts, here’re some pictures of our ‘beloved’ hellhole Project...


The garden of our 'beautiful' blue office in Kurkumbh, ...this is about the nicest part of our office, don't ask about the parts...


Daybreak at our Kurkumbh Base Camp


Maharaja Hotel, km70, the most decent hotel in our office area, ...about 1.5 stars, I’d say. Comes with good food (until the entire management team, plus the chef, quit and joined another hotel about a few months back), air con (the constantly buzzing variety), hot water (in a bucket, when summoned)...


Kkanchan Restaurant, km41, the finest in our Project stretch, only vegetarian food, or ‘pure veg’ as the locals term it, makes one wonder whether there’s such a thing called ‘impure veg’? Anu had food there once, and swore not to return (she’s not really a fan of Indian ‘pure veg’ food), but this is our clients’ and consultants’ favourite stopover in our Project




Rock, or having to cut through rock, is one of the main features of our Project – chiselling our way through, km68-69, Pune-Solapur Highway


Part of our fleet of rock breakers


Blasting the blasted rocks with explosives, km53


The deep canal at km79 - we have to build the road on top of this existing canal by extending the tunnel-like culvert


Another view of the deep canal, km79 Pune-Solapur Highway


Public well, Yavat, the nicest well in our Project, one of the many wells in the Project corridor that we have to close up to make way for the highway


Construction here involves a lot of praying and a lot of gods - praying to the ‘God of Girders’ before the start of the launch of our bridge girders, with my colleague, CL Chong looking on


Praying to the ‘Holy Toolboxes of the Divine Mechanics’, on the occasion of Vishwakarma Puja, held sometime every September, and dedicated to Vishwakarma, the Hindu God of craftsmen and architects