The other side of Marathwada.....

Marathwada ranks among the least developed regions of India with very low Human Development Index (HDI). Yet, the contrasts are evident...

The other day I went to a pet shop and was a little taken aback to know about the rich in a small city like Aurangabad. There are people in the city who spend 500 Rs (12.50 US$) a day or 15000 Rs (375 US$) per month on pet foods imported from far countries. It is an irony that this happens in one of the poorest regions of India where the annual per capita income is less than 16000 Rs (400 US$).

Yet another day, I met a travel agent who told me that about 60 people travel every month on organized 20-day tours to Europe from Aurangabad city!!! This is only the statistics from one such travel agent! Most of them opt for star hotels and all of them spend at least 250,000 Rs (6000 US$) on the tour.