NEW DELHI, Aug 22: Asia’s richest village exists in India and more precisely in Gujarat, in the state’s arid region of Kutch district. Madhapar village just on the outskirts of the Kutch district headquarter of Bhuj, has been branded as the “richest village in entire Asia.”
Gujarat, the home state of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is known to be the country’s one of the top business destinations, but the prosperity of Madhapar is not dependent on that. Residents of the village hold fixed deposits worth ₹ 7,000 crore, which gives a glimpse of how rich they are.
Madhapar is inhabited mostly by the Patel community. Its population is estimated to be around 32,000, up from 17,000 in 2011. The village has 17 banks, including major public and private banks like the HDFC Bank, SBI, PNB, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Union Bank, etc – which is rather unusual for one single village. Despite that, more banks are interested in opening their branches there.
The reason behind the prosperity is its NRI (non-resident Indian) families, who deposit crores every year in local banks and post offices. The village has nearly 20,000 houses, but around 1,200 families live abroad, mostly in African countries.
The construction businesses in Central Africa are heavily dominated by Gujaratis, part of a larger expatriate population in the region. Many live in the UK, Australia, America, and New Zealand as well. But though they live and work abroad, they remain attached to their village and prefer parking their money in the banks in their native village rather than where they live.
The bank authorities confirm that the huge deposits have made the village prosperous. It has all basic facilities like water, sanitation, and road. There are bungalows, both public and private schools, lakes, and temples, much more than one could expect in an Indian village.
(Manas Dasgupta)