Residents of Kanasinakatte village in Bhadravathi taluk have put up a banner asking political occasion employees to not enter the village for campaigning.
| Photo Credit: G.T. Sathish
The residents of Kanasinakatte (which accurately means reservoir of desires) — a village with round 1,200 voters within the Bhadravathi taluk of Shivamogga district — have put up a banner on the entrance asking political leaders to not enter the village. They have boycotted the Assembly election, citing a scarcity of fundamental facilities, ranging from public transport and cell connectivity to burial grounds.
The village is about 5 kilometres away from Hole Honnur, a city that falls underneath the Shivamogga Rural Assembly constituency, and reaching this village isn’t straightforward. In reality, schoolchildren need to stroll the 5 km distance to achieve their faculties as a result of there isn’t a bus service to Kanasinakatte. “Every day, more than 150 students, those in high schools and colleges, walk up to Hole Honnur. For last four to five years, we have been appealing for bus service. But no one has responded,” stated Srinivas, who represents the village within the Sanya Kodamaggi gram panchayat.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, the scholars within the village had a tricky time attending on-line courses on account of poor community connectivity. “We got mobile phones for our children, but they could hardly attend classes. They climbed hillocks in search of a vantage point hoping to get signal. The problem has not been addressed even now,” identified Nagaraj, a resident of the village.
The villagers have appealed to the MLAs, Lok Sabha member, and officers various occasions. “For years, we had two acres of land to bury the dead. However, recently, panchayat officials issued the khata (title deed) of the land in the name of an individual, stopping us from entering the place. Now, we do not have a burial ground either,” rued Karibasavaiah, additionally a gram panchayat member.
The villagers took a united determination to boycott the election to focus on their issues. They conveyed their determination by way of a letter to the Deputy Commissioner as effectively. Officers from the Bhadravathi taluk administration held a gathering with the villagers and tried to persuade them to withdraw their determination. “We will not backtrack from our decision. There is no point in voting as nobody is coming forward to resolve our issues,” stated Malleshappa, a resident.
