Ahmedabad, April 13: While Gujarat is all set for Lok Sabha Polls, it is interesting to observe how the people of southern India dwelling in Gujarat have reacted to development issues and hence are ready to re- elect the BJP Government.
It is not a lesser known fact that Southern India is governed by mostly all the local parties emerged. Although, people from Southern India in Gujarat have interestingly notified the difference on parameters of development and have considered BJP at forefront on all development measures.
REVOI organized a survey to get into the views of South Indian and Maharashtrian localities in Ahmedabad on key areas of development. There came out few remarkable observations of such localities comparing the development standards with their natives.
Bhavana Dixit, a 45 year old woman who works at Gujarat University and is basically from Nashik – Maharashtra lives in Gujarat since last 18 years. While talking to REVOI on employment opportunities she said that Ahmedabad market is full of job opportunities while compared to Nasik and hence one can dwell here with better standard of living and economic freedom.
While talking about education she said, “It is a high time that Gujarat’s Government should upgrade the academic courses.” But talking on safety matters she said that only northern states of India can be considered as unsafe but rather than that any part of India is safe and Gujarat among them is the safest state to live.
Eknath Kanade, a 67 year old Retd. Army Officer shared his views on development issues in Ahmedabad while compared to Nashik – Maharashtra where he natively belongs to. When asked about the key areas of development where Gujarat has topped the other Indian states he said that Gujarat lives lavishly while compared to Nasik, Maharashtra. Gujarat is an industrially governed state while Nasik is still into Agriculture at a larger level.
While talking on Education he suggested that Gujarat needs to focus on Education but by keeping the Indian virtues intact. He said that Education if imparted in one’s first language, it shall raise a bar for one’s personal growth as well. But coming to educational comparison he said that Maharashtra’s Higher Education is much better than Gujarat.
Further, Mr. Kanade said that Gujarat has set an example for 24 hour Electricity and water supply. Maharashtra still faces the drought situations in summers while Gujarat has not only solved the water supply issues but also have used solar energy optimally to ensure that every village of Gujarat gets the 24 hour electricity and faces no power cuts. Looking at such major developments he said, “I will naturally vote for BJP.”
Mangala Kandrekar, is a shopkeeper who lives in Gujarat since last 40 years but is natively from Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. At the age of 45 years she runs 2 to 3 shops simultaneously. Talking on development she said that development is at an optimum level in Gujarat, be it a city or a village, there are all kinds of professions followed here.
She said, “Although higher Education is better in Maharashtra, the primary education is up to the mark here and hence people of Gujarat accept outsiders easily”
Further, she said that Gujarat is a better state than Maharashtra in issues like gender equality, water supply and safety for women at work place. She wishes to support BJP and re –elect the present Prime Minister again.
Radhika Rao, a 48 year old woman who owns Radhika Restaurant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, lives in Ahmedabad since 25 years. She is natively from Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh and visits her hometown twice a year. She said that Gujarat is a state where people have a broader vision of employment, they are ready to take risks and jump into ventures.
There are not only many job opportunities here but people also enjoy trying new things. While in Andhra Pradesh there are many restrictions for certain jobs, there is lot of politics and hence standard of living is lower in Andhra Pradesh than Gujarat.
Talking precisely on safety issues, she said that as Gujarat is a dry state and there are majority of vegetarians here, it is much safer in Gujarat than in Andhra Pradesh. Liquor and Non Veg promotes vulgarity which is prominent in cities there.
Radhika said that development seems more evident in Modi Government.
Suja Babu, is a social worker in a Stree Shakti Sangathan and lives in Gujarat since 27 years. She natively comes from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. At the age of 47, she is an activist to promote woman empowerment and make woman self – employment.
When Suja Babu was asked about job opportunities and standard of living in Gujarat, she said that Gujarat stands on a higher side in all developmental measures than Kerala except Education. Although she said that Gujarat is pacing high towards becoming an education hub as it is developing in all the Educational fields simultaneously.
Talking on safety matters she mentioned that Gujarat is one of the safest state for women to live freely and a take stand for her dignity and justice. She said, “Whenever I visit my native I make it a point to bring awareness in people about woman empowerment and development. I always insist them to get inspired from liberal mindset of people in Gujarat who always stand strongly to promote women in any given field of employment.”
She also said that there is a lot of political noise in Kerala and hence economic freedom is suppressed but it is easier to run a start up in Gujarat as Economic Freedom prevails here.
Talking on Electricity and Water Supply she said that there are no issues regarding electricity now in Ahmedabad but for water supply there are still some areas in Ahmedabad where water is provided for a limited time and hence in summers it is not sufficient. She further said that overall looking at the development that BJP Government has done so far she shall vote for BJP.
Akhil Pillai, a 22 year old student perusing Mechanical Engineering in Ahmedabad is basically from Kottaim, Kerala. While talking to REVOI on various developmental measures that makes Gujarat different from his native he said that Gujarat has a wide scope in terms of job opportunities in mostly all fields as compared to Kerala as it is a state occupied vastly in agriculture.
He further said that Gujarat not only has a higher standard of living because of the modernized technology and infrastructure but it is also a much better place to live as there is a lot of gender inequality in Kerala. He said, “Girls are still not allowed to get out after 7 in the evening in Kerala which is not the case in Gujarat.”
While talking about Education he said Kerala is best in Education but Gujarat sooner or later will improve in Education as well. When asked to him about his vote, he was positive about BJP.
REVOI has reached out to localities of Ahmedabad and acquired answers regarding the necessary issues of development in Gujarat, particularly employment and gender equality. It was interesting to note that people from different professions and age groups have a similar opinion, not only in terms of Job opportunities that have been questioned recently but also they have considered the state a better place to live because of the present government.