For the poor, sarpanch nearly mortgaged wife’s ornaments

Nimesh Khakhariya | TNN | Apr 6, 2020, 04:05 IST

Taveda sarpanch Danabhai Sidha

Rajkot: Few days ago, the scene at Danabhai Sidha’s house was much like the emotional ones seen in Bollywood films.
Sidha, the sarpanch of Taveda, a village six km from Mahua town of Bhavnagar, was hell bent upon mortgaging all the gold ornaments of his wife and mother even as they desperately pleaded with him not to do so.
By mortgaging these valuables with a bank, Sidha wanted cash as he could no longer see the plight of poor people around him due to lockdown.
His wife and mother were wary of him taking such a risky step, mainly due to the emotional value attached to the ornaments.
It was with great difficulty that Sidha relented after relatives and friends asked him to eschew the mortgaging idea.
Instead, they got together and lent him Rs 4 lakh to serve the poor.
Taveda has population of around 3.500 and most of the men work as daily wagers in onion dehydrating units of They also work in farms but are unemployed for the last fortnight.
“Being the sarpanch. I could not see the pain and suffering of my people. So I decided to provide them money and food. As I don’t have so much cash, I decided to mortgage my wife’s and mother’s ornaments with the bank,” Sidha told TOI over phone.
“My relatives and friends, however, convinced me not to do this and instead lent me Rs 4 lakh. They have even told me that I can return the money whenever it’s convenient and they haven’t set any deadline,” Sidha said.
From the money, Sidha purchased food grains and edible oil from shops and has been distributing it among the needy people from Saturday onwards.
He is also giving cash ragning from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000 to anyone who requires.
Sidha’s sole source of income is farming and he owns 20 bighas land in the village.
“Last season, I grew cotton and groundnut, but the yield was not very good. This time I have sown white onions. I will repay in instalments to all those who lent me from my farm income,” he said.