Photo story:Bhagwa bicycles and milk cane and Garib Kalyan Mela

Ahmedabad, 27 September 2013

In Garib Kalyan Melas, the state government connects directly to the poor people who are beneficiaries of various government schemes. The concept is superb, because beneficiaries get benefits of govt schemes directly and regularly, without any middle man involved. They don’t need to visit government offices again and again to get the benefits they deserve.

One interesting feature of every Garib Kalyan Mela is saffron (bhagwa) colour. It is ruling Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)’s favorite color. So you might not have seen saffron bicycles before, but in Garib Kalyan Mela the government gives saffron bicycles to beneficiaries.

Some beneficiaries particularly in rural areas feel shy to possess saffron bicycle because people easily identify it with Garib Kalyan Mela. So they take saffron bicycle to home and manage to paint it in black color.

In picture above you can also see saffron milk cane. Have you seen saffron colored milk cane before? Here it is. How’s that?