The local people believe that PM took the decision to hold this event at Kutch to put the place on the world tourist map and can’t thank him enough
Khavda (Kutch) : People in Khavda village here believe that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has helped in putting the place on world tourist map by organising a three-day conference of top police and security officers in Kutch.
“Modi never forgets us,” said several villagers, who believe that he had taken personal initiative to improve their income and standard of living during his 13-year-long tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister. Modi, who was present at the inaugural session of the conference on Saturday, will also be there for the remaining two days.
The local people have once again found a reason to believe that Modi took the decision to hold this event at Kutch to put the place on the world tourist map. According to them, Modi has transformed the rural economy of this arid region by starting ‘Rann Utsav’ few years back. “Till now, no one wanted to come in this desert. Now, it has become a famous tourist spot after Modiji (Narendra Modi) started Rann Utsav here. As a result, thousands of villagers are able to sell their handicraft items through over 100 stalls at Dhordo. We are also selling sweets at such stalls. Locals of 56 villages near Khavda are reaping the benefits of this unique initiative of Modi,” Salim Osama, a cattle rearer of Khavda, said.
This year’s ‘Rann Utsav’ is scheduled to start from December 24 and will last till first week of February. Last year, over 15 lakh tourists visited the tent city in Dhordo, around 10 km from Khavda. According to the officials, these tourists are giving huge business to lo
cals. “These stalls are only given to locals turn by turn, so that all the families gets a chance to sell their Kutchi embroidery cloths, handicrafts and sweets. These stalls generate very good revenue for locals. Articles and items worth crores of rupees are sold there and then money goes directly to villagers,” said Deelipsinh Rana, a senior officer of state Information Department in Kutch. Rana has witnessed the very first inauguration of ‘Rann Utsav’ by Modi in 2006.
Other than Rann Utsav, locals believe that Modi’s love for Kutch also reflects in other initiatives taken by state government.
“For last few years, we are not facing any scarcity of water or grass for our cattle. Due to very good road connectivity, we are able to sell our milk to nearby towns easily. All this happened because Modi loves us. That’s why he keeps coming here to oversee the development work. For us, he is still our CM,” said Kaadar Jumma, a local cattle rearer of Khavda.
“We are not worried now, as our incomes have risen significantly in recent years, as several members of our family are earning. It was Modi who thought about us and worked on it. We learnt that its his 90th visit of Kutch when he landed here on Friday. This shows that Modi never forgets us,” another local Rafiq Sama said.
