Shinde’s hamlet in Sahyadris hopes for own CM to end its isolation

Kolhapur: Dare Tarfe Taam, rebel Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde’s hamlet, nestled deep in the Sahyadri ranges 85km from Satara, has shown him just how tough a ride home can be.
Political developments in the state in the last two weeks have brought some excitement to the hamlet and its residents are confident that their son of the soil will be the chief minister soon and it will turn the fortunes of their settlement starting with better transportation.
The hamlet, among the wettest places in the state, is sandwiched between a core forest zone on one side and the Koyna River on the other. It has a population of 150, and 30 houses of which 27 belong to people with Shinde as their surname.
Every monsoon, the hamlet’s residents stock up groceries and stay put in their huts for three months because the boat service which is Dare Tarfe Taam’s lifeline and the easiest mode of travel and connectivity, halts during the rains.
The service links their hamlet to Bamnoli on the other side of the Koyna River giving them access to schools, health facilities, and work. The villagers then have to take a long and winding 70km road along the steep slopes of the Sahyadri ranges fraught with the risk of landslides, mudslides and extremely poor visibility to reach these destinations.
Children study up to Std V in the hamlet, but for high school they have to travel 40km to Tapola by road. Junior college students commute three hours one way by bus in rough road conditions up to Mahabaleshwar, some 70km away. A lone Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus travels to the hamlet once a day.
Sanjana Shinde from the hamlet said every June, the water level in Koyna River is at its lowest and they cannot take the boat to reach Tapola or Bamnoli. In July and August, the river is swollen, and the heavy rain causes excessive flooding cutting off the road to Tapola and Mahabaleshwar.
“We are isolated for three months. We want a bridge from our hamlet to Bamnoli that we can use ïn any season,” she added.
Like many hamlets in Konkan and South Maharashtra, youngsters from Dare Tarfe Taam migrate to Mumbai and Thane for work while their parents stay back to tend the livestock and cultivate paddy on small farms. Ganeshotsav or the annual village fair is when all of them get together in the hamlet.
Political affiliations are different in Dare Tarfe Taam. Its sarpanch Laxman Shinde said the hamlet that was neglected for decades saw some development in the last two years after Eknath Shinde began taking interest. “Our area has been an NCP stronghold, but neither has our MLA from Wai-Mahabaleshwar constituency nor has Satara’s Member of Parliament visited our hamlet for years. Eknath Shinde’s efforts brought an asphalted road leading to the hamlet and concrete internal lanes. He dug three wells and a bore well. Electricity is available for most of the time and there is hardly any load shedding. He is our brother, and we all are with him in his decision. He will become the chief minister very soon,” he said.
The rebel MLA bought some 12.45 acres of farmland in the hamlet in December 2018 and his MP son Shrikant Shinde purchased 22.68 acres in November 2017. Along with a traditional house, the Shinde family is constructing a grand farmhouse here which is supervised by his cousin Ashok Shinde.
The hamlet has two helipads too which the Sena MLA uses when he comes to the hamlet. Rupesh Shinde, another villager, said, “He comes at least once a month in his helicopter. Our cricket ground is the helipad when he arrives. When he was down with Covid-19 twice, he stayed in Dare Tarfe Taam for 10 days each time. His father Sambhaji moved to Thane when Shinde Saheb was in Std I and the whole family visits the hamlet on occasions like the annual fair at Lord Uteshwar temple in January. We are awaiting to welcome him as the new chief minister.”