Moving spirit of Maharashtra

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Vari</span> is traditionally a three-week long pilgrimage, where thousands of devotees of Lord Vithoba walk from Alandi to Pandharpur. In colloquial Marathi, the word <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">vari </span>is also used for routine travel, to dismiss it as meaningless.And Mumbaikars are well aware of the two forms, both of which are currently on.<br /><br />The ''real'' <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">vari </span>has now reached Pune and is on its way to Pandharpur. The other <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">vari </span>is being taken out by Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who, accompanied by his wife and a battalion of ministers and officials, is on his pilgrimage to the US. <br /><br />The official <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">vari </span>has now become an annual event, where a delegation led by the chief minister visits the US with a declared objective of attracting investors and investment in to the state. The offerings include fancy laptop presentations made by the officials for their political bosses and usually titled "Destination Maharashtra".<br /><br />However, the real destination that matters for the rulers of Maharashtra is always the US. Once there, it doesn''t matter if Maharashtra really becomes a destination for investors or not. Or so the media has revealed about various <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">vari</span>s undertaken by previous chief ministers.<br />Other than Gopinath Munde, deputy chief minister in the Sena-BJP alliance government, no one has really been successful in attracting investments into the state, according to reports. But all CMs have spent lavishly on their US tours. Shinde and his entourage are estimated to cost the exchequer anything between Rs 30 to 50 lakh.<br /><br />And remember, all this is expense by the chief minister of a state, which has a mounting debt of Rs 85,000 crore on its shoulder. A state that has no money for developmental projects or to pay salaries to teachers and sometimes even to government employees. A state which takes overdrafts and has even withdrawn money from contingency fund.<br /><br />Fate of Shinde''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">vari </span>will no doubt be like most of the earlier ones. Perhaps as a precaution, even before his departure, he declared he was not going to invite industrialists. But his agenda in the US includes meetings with executives of Oracle and other major IT firms in Silicon Valley. In the last leg of his tour, the CM is slated to attend a conference of non-resident Maharashtrians in New York.<br /><br />If Shinde''s US trip is not about attracting investments then what are these meetings for? Why should the industry minister and the delegation of officials accompany him? And above all, what is the purpose of the tour itself. <br /><br />As the chief minister and his entourage enjoy Uncle Sam''s hospitality, Mumbaikars are being forced further into depression. Water logging on the very first day of the onset of monsoon last week threw life off-gear in the city, exposing the tall claims made by civic authorities of clearing all <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">nullah</span>s and storm water drains.<br /><br />Last week, news about policemen being caught accepting bribes made even the hardened Mumbaikars cringe. Some would argue that it this was good news, but everyone is aware that this is just a microscopic minority which is getting caught. A huge majority is out there doing their business as usual. And whether those caught would ever be punished is a big question mark.<br /><br />While the long arm of the law is falling short to curb excessive corruption, another arm, the municipal corporation, is facing a double whammy - corrupt officials and ineffective elected representatives.<br /><br />On Tuesday, Mumbaikars were put to shame by a handful of corporators for their rowdy behaviour in the civic hall. The provocation? The municipal commissioner had distributed a letter written by the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee President Gurudas Kamat along with his stay order over demolitions of hutments during monsoon.<br /><br />Mumbaikars have no choice but to read all this in the papers and bear it. For the common man has no other destination but “Destination Maharashtra�.</div> </div>