The New Kutch

There is a very popular saying about Kutch, the border district of Gujarat. People cry when they first come here. Like a newly married woman, they do not want to come here. After staying here for some time they do not want to go back and start crying on the idea of leaving the place. Despite such a lovely description of the pull of the place, it is a fact that people of Kutch have gone to far off places to earn money. This is just because there were not adequate opportunities here.

But, situation is changing now. There is a reversal trend. People have started coming back to Kutch. It is the most happening place in Gujarat which is already a leading state with two digit growth rate. The place with rich natural resources and a great variety of handicrafts is now fast becoming a hub of industrial activity. Power projects of 10,000 plus MW and big cement companies are among the visible signposts of this metamorphosis.

It's Kandla and Adani Mundra ports are all set to be new gateways of India on the strategically advantageous western coast. This has led to the development of the district of exclusive import of timber. This is the only district in the country where timber is imported.

Kutch was known as a drought prone district. In every five years, at least two years used to be drought affected. Now things have changed. Water is aplenty. Rains pour water in the district, second largest district in the country after Sikkim. The result of this climatic change is obvious. Cash crops and horticultural crops are fast becoming favourites of the farmers. BT Cotton has increased the area of cotton cultivation and consequently the income of farmers.

Farmers here grow mango. Kesar variety of mango from Kutch has already robbed the charm of Kesar mango of Junagadh and has started entering into foreign markets. Similar is the case other horticultural crops here. It is all set to be the hub of horticultural crops in Gujarat.

These are some of the impressions I got while travelling through some parts of Kutch last week. Naturally, a six day visit is small to cover a district like Kutch. But it is quite sufficient to gain the idea of the changing Kutch.

I have seen Gujarat several times during the three decades of my journalistic career. Saurashtra and Kutch attract me in a very natural way. In my career , Kutch has a very distinct place. When I came here first, I had more than ten stories in just four days. My second visit, an assignment with the Army took me to the Rann of Kutch a place full of mirage effect. Those were the days, when army convoy used to move with the help of compass as there were no roads to most of Border Out Posts. This visit also taught me that Rann is not desert but a marshy land .

Since then I have visited Kutch several times. During my tenure with Indian Express, I came here at least once a year. Earthquake of Kutch of 2001 brought me here number of times. However, my this visit is almost after five years. I can certainly see the new Kutch in more details with a critical eye touching not so familiar a landscape.

I have decided to focus on kutch during the next two months and share with you all the joy of rediscovering Kutch woven in a fiction of my memories !