Beside ro-ro ferry, Gogha fishermen reel

The contrast could not have been more stark. While PM Modi’s ambitious Gogha-Dahej ro-ro ferry terminal stands tall reflecting a new India, the adjoining Gogha village gets drinking water once every fortnight, at times only once a month.

The village, known for its fishermen community — mostly OBC Kolis, but also Muslims — is a picture of neglect where basic amenities are nearly absent but for the toilets built under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Politically the Kolis are dominant and BJP’s Purushottam Solanki is the local MLA.

“We have the facility of piped drinking water, but the problem is we get drinking water supply once in 15 days and at times just once in a month. There is no development in the village as everything seems paralysed by local politics between BJP and Congress,” said Machchimar Boat Welfare Association head Dinesh Gulabbhai Vegad.

“The rich are very liberal to let the poor take water from their tanks. The other option is water supplied in big cans which come at Rs 20 per can,” said Pravin Kumar Lallubhai Mer. Fed up with the life, he has joined the Army.

While jetty of the ro-ro service is a modern marvel of engineering, stretching for a couple if kilometres inside the sea, the jetty for the fishermen is not just dilapidated, it is no more, having crumbled down to the last brick.

“We have been demanding a new jetty for the last 5-6 years, but to no avail,” Vegad said.