Online Learning Week- Urbanization has arrived in Thul

In the small village of Thul, on the west coast of India, urbanization has arrived! The normally sleepy fishing village, located away 14km from the bustling civilization of Bombay now getting a fresh new look as a whole city of factories are being built there. Factories, housing colonies, bus depots, shopping centers... there are just too many to be counted! It is the new Thul-Vaishet fertilizer complex! Tens of thousands tons of fertilizer will be made and sent all over India. This could bring a new wave of revolution to Thul! Many of the villagers, especially the boys who do not want to fish with their fathers, are excited at the prospect of finding new jobs. “It is better to have a job, to earn daily wages. And then there are all the other benefits-free lunch in the canteen, a doctor to see you if you are unwell, paid holidays-that’s’ the life!” said Ramu, a boy looking forward to the jobs available in the factories. Even though he has no experience of working in factories, he thinks he can learn.
But not everyone is happy. Ardakar, a villager, has led a group of other villagers to Mantralaya to protest to Chief Minister Sahib. He is quoted as saying “We have come to tell the government we don’t want the miserable sums of money they are offering us-our land is too valuable. We are not going to be turned into slaves working in their factories, we have always worked and lived independently and been our own masters.” They have started a petition and are giving it to Chief Minister Sahib, hoping that it will make them change his mind.So will the factory continued to be built, and will it bring benefits or harm to the village and its villagers? This remains to be seen in the near future.