Nano craze catches on in U'khand

GS Rawat, a retired government employee, has been ringing up Tata Motors dealers here to enquire about the safety aspects of Nano, especially in the hills.

Rawat, who owns a Maruti-800, which he bought in the 1980s, is now desperate to book a Nano. “Money is not a problem but I just want to be sure about the safety aspects of the small car,” said Rawat, who often drives to his native village at Dharkot in the hilly Tehri district from Dehra Dun.

Like Rawat, there are many who want to know more about Nano and even take a test ride in Uttarakhand from where the first car was rolled out. And, the excitement related to the world’s cheapest car seems to growing.

“The rollout of Nano from Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) is a big achievement,” said chief minister BC Khanduri, whose government provided a series of sops to Tata Motors at Pantnagar.

“Nano is our car. After all it was made in Uttarakhand,” said Shail Sharma, who would be booking the new car shortly. Sharma, a bank manager, till now used to go to workplace on a scooty. “I find the car safer than a scooty. Moreover, it will protect me from unpredictable weather of Dehra Dun,” said Sharma.

Rakesh Oberoi, a Tata Motors dealer here said he was getting hundreds of enquiries related to Nano everyday.

Tata Motors was given over 950 acres of prime land by the state government at Pantnagar for setting up its manufacturing facility. Last year, the company got 20 acres from the government for setting up a new distribution company apart from 45 acres additional land for the expansion purpose in wake of launch of Nano.

Meanwhile, on the request of the state government, Tata Motors has also agreed to convert its interim Nano arrangement into a permanent one at Pantnagar. By setting up a permanent plant at Pantnagar, Tata Motors would also be eligible for sops available under the tax holiday scheme.