Besides Delhi and Karnataka, we covered the states of Goa,
Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana in the first phase of our nationwide survey.
Goa
The best part of the journey so far has been the trip to Goa. We
mostly focused on rural Goa, away from white sand beaches and luxury resorts.
After an extensive 3day trip covering over 1000kms, we discovered that the
popular debate on sustainable development model might be completely misplaced.
While we often hear about the Gujarat vs. Bihar model of development, in our
view Goa indeed presents a good example of sustainable inclusive development.
We found people generally happy; infrastructure excellent; education system
exemplary; police surprisingly courteous, friendly, honest and firm on the
compliance; communities in harmony; and growth inclusive.
Insofar as the political mood is concerned, for a change, most
people were found satisfied with the establishment. BJP should be advised to
showcase Goa more prominently in the national discourse, despite its tiny size.
Haryana & Punjab
We avoided NH1 in our visit to Punjab and Haryana covering
9districts besides Chandigarh. The key highlights of the trip were as follows:
(a)
In Haryana most people were critical of the
political establishment, but would not do anything to bring a change.
Alcoholism is a major concern both in urban as well as rural areas.
Sex ratio and Khap dictates were not found to be a real concern.
The gender discrimination was absolute in rural areas and substantial in urban
areas.
Traders, SME and real estate developers/investors were found to
be financially stressed. Farmers in general were buoyant.
Corruption was not found to be a real concern. Congress
continues to be the most preferred party in the current circumstance.
(b)
Punjab appeared most impacted by the
global slowdown. The cases of reverse immigration from Europe have increased in
past year or so; though the youth still aspire to migrate to West.
Alcoholism is a major concern both in urban as well as rural
areas. The gender discrimination remains high in rural areas, urban areas are
seeing remarkable improvement.
Corruption is not a real concern in Punjab also. Unemployment is
high and rising. Paradoxically labor availability is a major concern with all
three sectors – farm, construction and manufacturing. SMEs, traders are
financially stressed. Investment in farm sector is decelerating fast.
Middle classes and workers are mostly indifferent to political
establishment. This might be a bad news for Congress and BJP both.
..…to be continued on 29th
April
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