It was October 7, 2006. I was serving as a Director in the Gujarat State Archaeology Department and on that particular day we the officials of ASI, Vadodara Circle and State Archaeology were all in Dholavira expecting a very important dignitary — Chief Minister Narendra Modi. For those who do not know, October 7 is the day Narendra Modi took oath as Chief Minister in 2001. Therefore, my team, and I found it even more gladdening that the Chief Minister was in our midst on the day he marks five full years in office. The occasion was an inspection of Dholavira, a site associated with the Harappan civilisation which has now been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Dholavira had a distinguished history but the immediate past was not very pleasant. This site is located in Khadir Bet (island) of Kachchh, which in the early 2000’s ranked as one of India’s most backward districts. Droughts were common and development work hardly reached there. A super cyclone hit parts of Kachchh in 1998 and then came 26th January 2001 which turned the entire district, literally, upside down. Dholavira too was badly affected by the quake. That time too, Narendra Modi had come to Kutch and expressed dismay over the loss of precious heritage.
Coming back to our 2006 interaction, it was a landmark moment for us in the archaeology department that a Chief Minister is spending such time with us that too with topmost Cabinet Ministers of the state. He patiently covered the entire site and asked many questions on maintenance of the site. That the condition of the site had not improved all these years pained him. From there began an extensive effort that altered facilities in and around Dholavira, bringing more tourists and improving livelihoods for local communities.
After hearing our insights, CM Modi said, “The twin problems we faced here are — access to roads and water connection. To cater to these problems a Dholavira Task Force should be formed which will look at development issues systematically and not in silos but comprehensively.” This Task Force studied all the aspects relating to improving connectivity and water supply. This is when work on link roads from Ghaduli and Santalpur commenced.
From 2018, I am told, that the Lakhpat to Santalpur road which passes Dholavira has been declared a National Highway.
As far as water is concerned, the continuous water shortage in Kutch was impacting economic activity including tourism. In line with CM Modi’s vision, Kachchh got an extensive pipeline network that helped many in this district. Today, I am happy to see Kachchh making advances even in agriculture, with farmers growing fruits that were unthinkable in Kachchh’s terrain.
There was one peculiar problem we faced, which we brought to CM Modi’s light — one was the lack of continuous electricity and the second was the large number of electric wires across the Great Rann between Shirani Wandh and Amarapur due to which flamingoes in the nearby areas were dying. CM Modi said he was aware of this matter and thus, the Gujarat government embarked on the ambitious plan of taking all wires underground. This one step is saving thousands of flamingos and other migratory birds who are visiting Kachchh every year during the winter season. As a short-term measure, a special transformer was arranged to get electricity from Balasar. Subsequent to the CM, proper mobile connectivity was provided to Dholavira by 2008. This too happened on the personal intervention and following up by CM Modi.
Every tourist landmark requires a cadre of guides who can bring to life different facets of that particular attraction. Here too, CM Modi had a novel idea — to utilise the ex-servicemen who were healthy and wanted work. The Gujarat government organised camps for them. Years later, I see how in Kevadia locals have been trained to be guides. Needless to say, I knew where this idea had come from.
During our meeting, CM Modi pointed that Dholavira was not even as popular among local people of Gujarat and a part of the reason is that many people do not know where it is. That is why, he said he would be instructing the concerned departments to have proper signage of Lothal and Dholavira in different parts of the state. This did much good to these two sites, especially Dholavira, which is not as centrally situated as Lothal.
Another long-term project for which CM Modi supported us was the museum at Dholavira. He said for this project, no less than the Chief Secretary of the state would be involved. This gave us the confidence of working and adding value. I can never forget how the CM made it a point to interact with each and every person present there, ask about their well-being and their families.
I will never forget what CM Modi said that day. He said, “We have culture and heritage that can draw the world to us. Our challenge is to improve surrounding infrastructure and that can come only with the involvement of local communities and in line with local flavours. At the same time, growth of tourism must also match care for the environment. It would be injustice if more tourists come to Dholavira but the flora and fauna suffers. This is our moral responsibility.”
A few days back, when I read about Dholavira making it to the UNESCO Heritage Site, my heart was filled with pride. I felt honoured that I had the opportunity to contribute to this in some way. I was also reminded of the wonders when a government takes it upon itself to encourage history, culture and archaeology. Narendra Modi never saw the development of Dholavira in isolation. He had the foresight to develop surrounding infrastructure, protect local flora and fauna and integrate local communities. This is an idea worth emulating if we want to further harness our culture and tourism potential.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.)
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