Residents of these islands want their land back

This is the last piece of land in Karnataka before Telangana’s border begins. On paper, for the government, its a no man’s land. Yet, on ground it is a thriving village.

Residents of Kuruvakula, an island (locally called gadde) formed in the Krishna, now have a demand before those coming to seek their votes — to help them get back the title to the land they have surrendered for the Jurala project in what is now Telangana. While the land owning families surrendered the titles to accept compensation nearly two decades ago, the current generation has now started asking politicians to help them get it back and “redo” the village in revenue maps.

“In the ‘90s, my grandfather agreed to surrender the land and accepted compensation, which was a pittance. Today, my generation is educated, but have remained unemployed. We have no place to go. This is where we were born and we want to stay back,” says Suresh, a B.Ed. graduate whose family once owned 8 acres. He worked as a guest teacher in the government school on the island last academic year, but is not sure if his reappointment will come through this year. “Over the years, elders did not think much of it and did not bother to ask politicians to help us. Now, we are placing our demands before whoever comes to gadde, seeking our votes.”

Another villager Anjaneya says: “We do not get any loan since our names are not in the RTC.”

Kuruvakula with about 300 families and around 700 voters is one of the three such islands coming under Raichur Rural constituency that has historical significance too. The Dattatreya temple at Kuruvakula attracts thousands of pilgrims from Goa and Maharashtra.

Another island

The other gadde in the chain is Kurvakurda, which has about 250 families and around 600 voters. Polling booths are set up in two gaddes, the only way with which they can be accessed is through coracle.

In fact, these islands along with Neelakantarayana gadde in the neighbouring Yadgir district came into the limelight when Krishna river was in spate during floods in 2009. While government undertook relief effort and tried to evacuate these people, they refused to come out stating that they were safe in their islands. There are around six islands in both districts, a majority being in Raichur.

The demand to redo and give revenue status back comes from the fact that the villagers feel they can be evicted from the islands any time the government feels so since the islands are under Revenue Department’s possession. “Though compensation was given years ago, the same families continue to live there. While the government built houses at Atakur to move them out, not many have moved out. Even for those who have moved out, Atakur is only a second home for their kids, considering proximity to educational institutions,” said a village elder, who did not wish to be named.

Technically, their stay in the island is illegal after government gave them compensation and asked them to move out. “On paper, these villages are known as shifting villages and rehabilitated villages have been marked as shifted villages. The decision to shift came after technical surveys. A redo of the village is not possible,” an officer said.

Demand for toilets

The womenfolk in the island village of Kuruvakula gadde are more vocal, demanding a promise from politicians to build toilets. “We want toilets. Most homes here have no toilets and women are the worst affected, looking for secluded places day after day. When they (politicians) come here, they promise to build toilets but nothing happens,” said Shanthamma. Another villager Geetha, who now has migrated to Bengaluru after marriage, said it becomes extremely difficult during rainy season.