They Agree Over Scarcity Of Cattle Fodder, Differ On PM Narendra Modi

POCHINA/KARDA (JAISALMER): It's the humdrum of everyday activity along the border. But unlike other times or can be expected after Pulwama, it's not just the Army trucks that are crisscrossing the road here just kilometres away from the India-Pakistan border. Heavy earthmoving machines, 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.
Flattened dunes, raised platforms and deep tube wells at a distance of 20km each may one day change the desert ecology where once a narrow meandering road through the vast stretches of sand was the only connect. Water came at a premium then, but now it is in surplus enough for tankers to sprinkle along the road.
A cow finds shelter in the extreme heat in front of a store house for fodder which now lies empty in a Jaisalmer village.
The construction work may one day wipe out the last drop of tears from the otherwise alienated villagers along the border. But, as of now, it is still the basic necessities that they require. Be it Kesar Singh Soda of Pochina village, just 5km away from the border, or Soda Khan from the more populous Sam sand dunes, the lack of cattle fodder after two consecutive years of no rains unites them like most other villagers here. Their difference is only over Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Modi is the saviour of Hindus. We will surely vote for him. Else Pakistan will destroy us. Modi avenged the death of our soldiers," says Kesar Singh Soda, who as an eighth grader had to once vacate the village during the 1965 war between India and Pakistan. The village still has some Indian Air Force (IAF) persons deployed besides being a permanent post for the BSF. Villagers recalled the large posse of Army men posted in the village till days back.
With two ceiling fans working overtime to beat the extreme heat and a well all to himself, Kesar Singh's only discontent is the absence of fodder. He has released all his camels in the desert and now has to pay Rs 400 every day to buy fodder at Rs 10 per kg to maintain 20 cows.
“The government has not given any subsidy for fodder. We cannot afford such costly fodder. The cows are just surviving and don’t give milk anymore,” he says.
Eighty kilometres away, Soda Khan has the same grievances as he speaks up at a roadside meeting with Congress ‘zilla pramukh’ Anjana Meghwal. “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. The state has peculiar norms and can hold cattle camps in villages with a population of 2,000-plus. In Jaisalmer, the population density is less but people have lots of animals as that is their only means of livelihood. They must make separate norms for us,” he says.
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 all fake. We would have been happy if our enemies were killed but that is not the case. We checked with our relatives across the border. There have been no strikes in Pakistan after the Pulwama tragedy. The government is lying,” he quips.
His anger is further explained as many of the government schemes like the subsidy for toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission is yet to reach him or other villagers here. Moves of the former BJP government in the state like the merger of schools that had few students have left their mark with many girl students having to abandon studies as now they have to walk great distances to attend classes.
“We all like our enemies to be killed. Most Army men from here are the sole earning member of a family. So, when they are killed the entire family suffers. We would also like to see Pakistan decimated. But Modi has been lying and we will not vote for him,” he adds in a determined voice. But votes for the Lok Sabha polls may just be decided along religious divides.