Nandurbar:
Nandurbar, an unknown village in Maharashtra, is getting a makeover. Roads have been freshly laid, buildings are getting a fresh coat of paint, and water pumps are suddenly working. All of this in just ten days.
Nandurbar is one of India's most backward districts, and it is here that the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will launch the ambitious Unique Identification project, to give a number to every resident in the country.
(Read: PM, Sonia to launch Unique Identity project today)Not surprising, it is the choice of this Congress bastion. The party has not lost a single parliamentary election here since Independence. It was from Nandurbar that Sonia Gandhi held her first political rally in 1998.
The launch from this tribal district is also a signal that the scheme is meant for India's poorest.
But the sudden transformation hasn't impressed everyone.
"We had no electricity, no roads. Sonia is coming so it's has all been done now," said a local.
But 33-year-old Kashinath Thakare, who in spite of holding a Masters degree, works as a labourer. He is hopeful about the project's benefits.
"It will reduce a lot of paper work and documentation. And that will make our life easier and simpler," said Kashinath.
Villagers here say they can't recall the last time even a state government official visited their village, and now with the top brass of the Central Government and the entire national descending here, they feel today they have an identity which could get stronger with the successful implementation of this project.