Murur, a tiny and remote hamlet on the foothills of Western Ghat lacks basic facilities like road, power, drinking water, health care and educational facilities.

The proposed visit of the Social Welfare Minister Anjaneya on the New Year eve (Saturday) has raised the hopes among villagers, especially Marli Koraga, in whose house the stay has been arranged, for better comforts.

Marli Koraga, a 65-year-old woman, is all happy and pleased to serve the minister home cooked dinner. She said she will serve the minister simple home cooked food comprising chapathi, sambar, bele saru, kucchallaki rice, soppina palya, tharakari palya and kadalebele payasa. A room in the middle of the house is unsoiled and cleaned for the minister’s stay overnight.

Marli told reporters that she stays with her three daughters and a son. She has seven children and she lost her husband some years ago.

There are no proper transport facilities and health care amenities in the area and the inhabitants are expecting that lady luck to smile on ten Koraga families in the area. There are ten families in eight houses. These people walk 10 kms from Kalthod to reach Murur where they have the market, health and education facilities.

Murur has around 50 Koraga population. There is a primary school at Kappadi, one-and-a-half kilometers away and the students who want to pursue the high school studies should travel seven kms to Areshiroor.

Marli Koraga’s daughters Susheela and Gulabi said there are two to three buses, which ply only in morning and evening hours. The people should go to Bolamballi, walking five kms to board the bus. The autorickshaw drivers charge too much, they said.

Her another daughter Baby said the hamlet has three wells. But the water of only one well is potable. Two among these three wells dry up in summer, they said. They demanded proper roads and health care for the hamlet. Besides, they sought funds for self-employment and also a new school with better facilities.
They said they receive Rs 2 lakh in four installments for the construction of houses under Integrated Tribal Development Project. But many are people not able to procure the benefits as they do not have money to start the construction of the house and show evidences required for the release of the installments, they said.

Kalthod Gram Panchayat President Annappa Shetty said plans have been chalked out to build a footbridge at Idkallakattu. Rs 65 lakh was released last year and another Rs 35 lakh is required to complete the project, including construction of approach roads. This will provide better transport facilities. There are three wells and one-phase electricity is supplied to these families. Solar lamps are also provided, he said.

For the minister’s stay, around Rs 45,000 has been spent on the construction of Western toilet.

ITDP in-charge coordinator Harish Goankar said there are 11,333 Koraga population and 2,568 families in the district. Among them, 276 are self-employed, 197 are government employed, 366 are employed in private sector, 327 are engaged as agricultural laborers and 1,963 are engaged in daily wage works.

The population of STs is 52,897, including Koraga, Marati and Malekudiyas in the district.