Modi’s promised bicycles yet to reach salt-pan workers

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Patdi (Surendranagar): Karsan Thakor, a salt-pan worker in Himmatpura village of Patdi taluka was happy that he would get a bicycle for Rs 800 under a scheme launched by Chief Minister Narendra Modi during ‘Agaria Kalyan Sammelan’ in April last year. He somehow managed to save Rs 800 and even paid the same to get a bicycle on subsidised rate. But, even after a year, he still burns his feet on this inhospitable terrain. Sources said there are many salt-pan workers in Surendranagar, who have already paid Rs 800 last year, but still there is no sign of the bicycles.“Whenever I go to ask about the status of my bicycle at government office, I am told it will take time,” Thakor said. If Thakor lost hope, Sonda Thakor of Enjar village in Halvad taluka finally decided to buy a bicycle on loan by paying a monthly installment of Rs 200. “Bicycle is a must for any salt-pan worker in Little Rann of Kutch. I bought the bicycle only six months back as I had some cash,” Sonda said. Condition of salt-pan workers is such that they cannot even afford a bicycle. Government officials had a tough time convincing even five workers to take the bicycles as a sample base of the scheme launched last year during the Modi function. Even government officials in Patdi are clueless about the scheme. They have stopped taking new forms also. According to an estimate, there are close to 40,000 saltpan workers in the district. Assistant labour officer (Patdi) BT Sanghvi said, “We were given the responsibility of filling the forms for bicycle scheme when CM had floated this scheme. We forwarded them to the higher ups and do not know anything apart from this.’’ Moreover, recently, ministers Saurabh Patel and Vajubhai Vala during a national seminar held at Gandhi Labour Institute had done a lot of talking on government’s inclination for betterment of salt-pan workers.