Along the border in
Rajasthan, the humdrum of everyday activity is continuous. But now, it’s not just Army trucks crisscrossing the road in the region just kilometres away from the
India-Pakistan border
.
Assembly Election Results
Heavy machinery, water tankers, and a whole lot of vehicles populate the desert as construction of a four-lane road from Tanot to Munabao in
Jaisalmer
under the
Bharatmala Pariyojana goes ahead full steam.
Alienated villages along the border lack even basic services and the construction of a road could give them a link to much-needed resources. Be it Kesar Singh Soda of Pochina village, just 5 kilometres from the border, or Soda Khan from the more populous Sam sand dunes, lack of cattle fodder after two consecutive years of no rain binds villagers here.
But Kesar Singh Soda says Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is the answer. “Modi is the saviour of Hindus. We will surely vote for him. Else Pakistan will destroy us. Modi avenged the death of our soldiers,” said Kesar Singh, who was a teenager when he had to vacate his village during the
1965 war
.
His only discontent is the absence of fodder. He has released all his camels and now has to pay Rs 400 every day to buy fodder at Rs 10 per kilo to maintain 20 cows. “The government has not given any subsidy for fodder. We can ill afford such costly fodder. The cows are just surviving and don’t give milk anymore,” he said.
Eighty kilometres away, Soda Khan has the same grievances. “There are about 4.5 lakh cows in the district and there is no fodder. The village is under near drought condition and the government must act now,” he said.
But his tone changes the moment elections are mentioned. “Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a good man. He took everyone along but not Modi. Where is the promised Rs 15 lakh in our accounts? The surgical strikes are fake,” he said. “We all like it when our enemy is killed in revenge because most Armymen from here are the sole earning member. So when they are killed their entire family suffers. But Modi has been lying and we will not vote for him.”
As election time approaches in the border constituencies, it remains unclear how these villages will vote even as they bear the brunt of fodder scarcity and drought conditions.