Karnataka   

Awaiting a link to the world

Crying need for facilities: Boats are the only means of transport for the people of Edakuria island, in Kollegal taluk in Karnataka.

Chamarajanagar: The people of Edakuria, an island in Sathegala hobli of Kollegal taluk, get to see the political candidates of the Hanur Assembly constituency only when elections come around. It is the hope of the youth of this village that an overbridge would be built across River Cauvery, which would link them to the rest of the civilised world.

Though the elders of the village are against the construction for fear of “outside” influences, the younger generation would only welcome such a facility. Edakuria, surrounded by River Cauvery, has an electorate of 319. As there are no accessible roads to reach the island, small boats are the only means to ferry the villagers across to the other bank. More than 80 families, comprising around 500 people and an equal number of cattle and sheep face the threat of floods when excess water is released from the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) and Kabini reservoirs.

Power supply and telephone lines are disrupted whenever there is heavy rain. In spite of the difficulties, the village elders refuse to evacuate the island. They live by the belief that they were able to overcome the floods in 1962 and 1991.

Edakuria, located just 3 km from the banks of Sathegala village, lacks transportation, sanitation and medical facilities. There have been instances when people have been washed away in the river during heavy rains while attempting to cross the river to receive medical attention.

The Government has opened a lower primary school in the island, where more than 60 students study. The village people have 600 acres of land for cultivating paddy crop.

There is abundance of groundwater and thanks to the Malnad Area Development project, a drinking water supply scheme fulfils the needs of the village. A polling booth will be set up in Edakuria for the people to exercise their franchise for the candidates of Hanur Assembly segment. In spite of the repeated pleas for a bridge and an approach road, successive public representatives have turned a blind eye to the people of Edakuria. Will it be any different this time?

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