Two States, and a multitude of problems

In a state of flux: Kallappa and Savita Tayi, a farmer couple of Kudrimani in Belagavi, work in their farm across the boundary in Maharashtra.

In a state of flux: Kallappa and Savita Tayi, a farmer couple of Kudrimani in Belagavi, work in their farm across the boundary in Maharashtra.  

In Belagavi and Bidar, many voters have a Maharashtra link

Farmers of Kudrimani village in Belagavi district cross the boundary of two States several times a day. Their homes are in Karnataka, while their farmlands are in villages such as Satrani and Shinoli in Maharashtra.

Every morning, they set out to their fields, carrying ploughs and pickaxes, and cross the boundary to reach their farms. Many of them come home for lunch, have a nap and go back. It is for dinner that they return to Karnataka again.

Living in two States poses several problems — they have to deal with officials of two governments even to sell farm produce or, for instance, to sell or buy land and build houses.

“If we have work in the Revenue Department, we have to go to Karnataka officials, but if we have work in the Agriculture Department, we have to go to Maharashtra,” says Madhusudhan Pundalik, who lives in Kudrimani. They have been leading such a life for five decades now.

This predicament has dictated the political choices of the villagers too. At Kudrimani in the Belagavi Rural constituency, which has nearly 4,000 people and 2,500 voters, people have for long been supporters of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), hoping that a merger with Maharashtra will put an end to this hassle. “We no longer believe this will happen and changed our loyalties,” says B.T Ramanrao, a BJP supporter for the past two elections.

The general impression here is that rural governance and the cooperative movement is better in Maharashtra.

It’s an island

Similar is the story of Chondi Mukhed in Bidar district. It is surrounded by Maharashtra villages, the only connection with Karnataka being a single road laid by the State Panchayat Raj Department. Civic amenities such as power and water supply are provided by Maharashtra, which gets paid by the Karnataka government. In 2011, Maharashtra’s power supply company disconnected power supply saying Karnataka had not paid power bills for three years.

However, Chondi Mukhed’s unusual positioning between two States does not seem to be a poll issue here. The MES does not have a presence in Bidar district and the village has generally not acted any differently from the political attitude of Aurad taluk to which it belongs.