I went home on the 30th. Flew in to Bhubaneshwar by Kingfisher (great food and even nicer airhostesses). I remember looking out of the window as the plane descended and initially I saw a small hill and lots of trees. After a little while I saw paddy fields and a few huts. As the plane came closer and closer to the ground, I saw a few buildings, more paddy fields, and thats all. All of a sudden the airfield came into view and other than the runway there was nothing in sight. Upon disembarking I got a shock when I saw the condition of the terminal. Thought I had landed in one of the Biggles novels. Literally.
The countryside was green, looked fertile and yet was extremely deserted. I have never seen an Indian countryside so devoid of people or development. The road we were using to get to Chilka is part of the Golden Quadrilateral, but it has been 'localized'. The dividers have been destroyed in places so that people can cross and it is not rare to see vehicles (autos and even cars) travelling on the wrong side of the road! I dont mean to sound like some gora, but I was astounded by the lack of road sense. People just didnt seem to care what was going around them. I saw a youth saunter across the road and narrowly miss being run down by a lorry. He didnt seem the least bit concerned. It was almost as if he had some tacit understanding with the lorry drivers that he would be spared.
The countryside was green, looked fertile and yet was extremely deserted. I have never seen an Indian countryside so devoid of people or development. The road we were using to get to Chilka is part of the Golden Quadrilateral, but it has been 'localized'. The dividers have been destroyed in places so that people can cross and it is not rare to see vehicles (autos and even cars) travelling on the wrong side of the road! I dont mean to sound like some gora, but I was astounded by the lack of road sense. People just didnt seem to care what was going around them. I saw a youth saunter across the road and narrowly miss being run down by a lorry. He didnt seem the least bit concerned. It was almost as if he had some tacit understanding with the lorry drivers that he would be spared.
Chilka lake is HUGE (1100 square kilometers) and obviously what I saw was a tiny part of it. The naval base is extremely well laid out and since there was an annual inspection due, it looked clean and well maintained. But outside the base, there is NOTHING. Just a dhaba called 'Chilka Dhaba', which incidentally serves the most amazing crabs and prawns, but the tiny township called Balugaon is very very underdeveloped. I wondered if it had changed since the 1950s. What worried me the most was that this part of Orissa was supposed to be the more 'developed' area. Imagine what it is like in the interiors!
To be fair, there were lots of signs of heavy construction going on. And one did see many trucks loaded with machinery. I just hope that the people of Orissa get to enjoy the benefits of all this investment.
To be fair, there were lots of signs of heavy construction going on. And one did see many trucks loaded with machinery. I just hope that the people of Orissa get to enjoy the benefits of all this investment.
Here is a good example of Govt. - Private Enterprise Partnership...
No comments:
Post a Comment