In the hills in Karnataka, a booth too far
People in many villages in Chikkamagaluru district will have to walk far to vote
Come May 12, Lingappa, a farmer in his 60s, and his family members of Kyatanamakki in Chikkamagaluru district will have to trudge nearly 4 km to vote in the Assembly elections. There are just two families in the village and their polling station is at Horanadu Balige.
With no public transport, 30 to 40 villages of Mudigere, Koppa, Sringeri, Chikkamagaluru and N.R. Pura taluks in the remote, hilly but pristine Malnad region abutting the Western Ghats face such a predicament.
A hotbed of Naxal activity about a decade ago, these villages have more or less come out of its influence. Today, when they are not cultivating their small fields, the residents work as agricultural helps for others. And they are not averse to taking part in democratic exercises such as voting.
But the villages are far from each other and have 261 registered voters. Some have just one family each. Its members must walk about a kilometre to reach the nearest village. In fact, reaching out to them is daunting for the government machinery and the vote-seeking politician.
When a few senior officers of the district administration visited them recently to motivate them to go out and vote, the people raised their common problems — lack of basic amenities such as public transport, a communication network and power supply.
Back in 2000, the State government set up an anti-naxal force when suspected Maoists started increasing their activities.
Some sustained development initiatives have paid off. Eleven persons once associated with Naxalites have returned to the mainstream.
Menasinahadya in Koppa taluk is an obscure village that shot to limelight after a wanted high-ranking leader, Saket Rajan, and his associates were gunned down in an encounter in February 2005.
Now, the village has a residential school, which keeps half of its seats for tribal children. Fourteen such schools have sprung up in the district alone in an initiative to bring development to former Naxalite areas.
The results of the initiatives have been mixed. In a few villages where these schools have their hostels, there is no power supply except in the hostels. The government has distributed solar lamps to local families under a special package meant for Naxal-affected areas.
“The solar lamp works only for a couple of hours in a day,” says Ramesh of Menasinahadya. “But it is of no use to our children when they need to study at home.”
Highlighting the lack of a reliable telephone network — both land and mobile — during a crisis they faced about a month back, P.B. Prakash of H. Balige village says, “One of our neighbours had a serious health problem. We kept on telephoning an autorickshaw driver and reached him only after an hour.”
“If only we had a regular public transport service, we wouldn’t have to spend so much on each ride,” says Chaitra, 30, of Balige village.
Panchayat initiative
When C. Satyabhama, Chief Executive Officer of the Chikkamagaluru Zilla Panchayat, visited these villages, the people there asked her for transport to the polling booth. The officer assured them that she would try to make some arrangement for the aged and the physically challenged after consulting senior officers.
Ms. Satyabhama told The Hindu, “We are thinking of making available government vehicles on election duty for people who need assistance to reach the polling station.”
Please note that under 66A of the IT Act, sending offensive or menacing messages through electronic communication service and sending false messages to cheat, mislead or deceive people or to cause annoyance to them is punishable. It is obligatory on kemmannu.com to provide the IP address and other details of senders of such comments, to the authority concerned upon request. Hence, sending offensive comments using kemmannu.com will be purely at your own risk, and in no way will Kemmannu.com be held responsible.
Similarly, Kemmannu.com reserves the right to edit / block / delete the messages without notice any content received from readers.
Final Journey Of Theresa D’Souza (79 years) | LIVE From Kemmannu | Udupi |
Invest Smart and Earn Big!
Creating a World of Peaceful Stay!
For the Future Perfect Life that you Deserve! Contact : Rohan Corporation, Mangalore.
Final Journey Of Joe Victor Lewis (46 years) | LIVE From Kemmannu | Organ Donor | Udupi |
Milagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Udupi - Parish Bulletin - Feb 2024 Issue
Easter Vigil 2024 | Holy Saturday | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu, Udupi | LIVE
Way Of Cross on Good Friday 2024 | Live From | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu, Udupi | LIVE
Good Friday 2024 | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu | LIVE | Udupi
2 BHK Flat for sale on the 6th floor of Eden Heritage, Santhekatte, Kallianpur, Udupi
Maundy Thursday 2024 | LIVE From St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu | Udupi |
Kemmennu for sale 1 BHK 628 sqft, Air Conditioned flat
Symphony98 Releases Soul-Stirring Rendition of Lenten Hymn "Khursa Thain"
Palm Sunday 2024 at St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu | LIVE
Final Journey of Patrick Oliveira (83 years) || LIVE From Kemmannu
Carmel School Science Exhibition Day || Kmmannu Channel
Final Journey of Prakash Crasta | LIVE From Kemmannu || Kemmannu Channel
ಪ್ರಗತಿ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಮಹಾ ಸಂಘ | ಸ್ತ್ರೀಯಾಂಚ್ಯಾ ದಿಸಾಚೊ ಸಂಭ್ರಮ್ 2024 || ಸಾಸ್ತಾನ್ ಘಟಕ್
Valentine’s Day Special❤️||Multi-lingual Covers || Symphony98 From Kemmannu
Rozaricho Gaanch December 2023 issue, Mount Rosary Church Santhekatte Kallianpur, Udupi
An Ernest Appeal From Milagres Cathedral, Kallianpur, Diocese of Udupi
Diocese of Udupi - Uzvd Decennial Special Issue
Final Journey Of Canute Pinto (52 years) | LIVE From Mount Rosary Church | Kallianpura | Udupi
Earth Angels Anniversary | Comedy Show 2024 | Live From St. Theresa’s Church | Kemmannu | Udupi
Confraternity Sunday | St. Theresa’s Church, Kemmannu
Kemmannu Cricket Match 2024 | LIVE from Kemmannu
Naturya - Taste of Namma Udupi - Order NOW
New Management takes over Bannur Mutton, Santhekatte, Kallianpur. Visit us and feel the difference.
Focus Studio, Near Hotel Kidiyoor, Udupi
Earth Angels - Kemmannu Since 2023
Kemmannu Channel - Ktv Live Stream - To Book - Contact Here
Click here for Kemmannu Knn Facebook Link