So, I have been assigned election duty. The assignment was full of suspense and drama. The portal created for the observers by the election commission, till the previous day showed no assignment of election duty. The election commission had already completed deployment of observers for all five rounds by then and hence I was under impression that I had been exempted as I would be handling law and order and deployment of police force in Gujarat state. But such was not to be.
Yesterday, I got a surprise call, informing me of election duty allotment in Cuddapah (Kadappa) district in Andhra pradesh and asking me to make a move immediately as desired by the commission. I had to reason out that if the commission took so much time in assigning me election duty, then I definitely deserve some time before making a move. The messenger agreed to my proposal of moving on Sunday.
Coming from north India, the area in the south has always fascinated me. I got good number of opportunities in the past to visit south. During my early career assignment with Indian Railways, I stayed in Secunderabad. Thereafter during Bharat Darshan ( tour of india), I visited Andhra pradesh, Tamilnadu and Kerala along the coast. In year 2004, during training with IIM, Bangalore in project management, I visited Bangalore, Mysore and Ooty. All previous visits had created certain impression regarding socio-economic and infrastructure related profile of all these states. I have always held the view that people in south are more sincere, hardworking, contained and satisfied lot. I was also under impression that infrastructure in south, barring Bangalore town was better compared to north India. Employment opportunities for people were also better in view of so many IT/ITES industries and English oriented education system. However my journey from Bangalore to Kadappa presented a different scenario.
The Karnataka border extends to about 100 kms from Bangalore. However the condition of roads and villages along the road presented a reality strikingly different from my perception. The roads are just pathetic and full of potholes. The public transport is there but quality of buses is very bad. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, though people seemed to be content. There appears to be some move for diversification towards horticulture. The villages are not properly laid out and there seems to be no system of collecting garbage or sweeping the streets.
Once we enter in to the Andhra Pradesh border, the road improves a bit. The socio-economic status remains the same as it is in Karnataka. On way, we passed through one particular reserve forest area and you know what, it is home to Red Sandalwood Plantations!!! The trees are lean though the stem looks very rough and thick by all standards. On my arrival to Kadappa, I am told that though it is world famous location for Red Sandalwood, but there is neither red nor sandalwood in to it. Seems that people in south apply reddish sandal paste on their forehead and then lot of it is exported to Japan legally or illegally. Though it is a forest area, it does not provide habitat to wild life.
Oh and well, I have completed reading informative literature on kadappa. Seems the district has a rich and colourful history. The colours in old era were provided by rich natural resources, investment in water harvesting hundreds of years ago, rich agricultural practices and wars amongst rulers and sultans in the past and spike in naxalism and insurgency in the recent times. Hope the assignment will provide me happy and memorable engagement.
No comments:
Post a Comment