The residents of Chegu in Mudigere taluk have threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha elections, citing the lack of basic amenities in the village. The villagers have put up a banner disclosing their plan to attract the attention of the district administration.
For the past 20 years, the people of Chegu have been demanding road connectivity to Banakal, the nearest small town and headquarters of Banakal Gram Panchayat. In the absence of a pucca road, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation does not offer services to the village, forcing the residents and schoolchildren to depend on private vehicles for commute. Around 50 schoolchildren travel by private autorickshaws or vans daily to reach their school in Banakal.
The village, which has 65 or so houses, has a government lower primary school. The children have to travel to Banakal for higher primary education. “All our children travel on this bad stretch of road by autorickshaws as there are no bus services,” said Jagadish, a resident of Chegu who works as a tailor in Banakal.
The villagers’ struggle for a pucca road has a long history. Whenever they place the demand, officials and people’s representatives promise to meet it, but forget eventually. “We, the villagers, have often contributed out of our own pockets to make the road motorable. The people’s representatives have hardly responded. The previous MLA refused to take up the work, saying that no one in the village had voted for him in the polls,” Mr. Jagadish said.
Drinking water
Besides, the villagers have complained to the authorities about inadequate supply of drinking water. They have been fetching water from a nearby stream, but they want a permanent facility. “The quantity of water available is insufficient. The quality is also poor,” said Harish, who plies an autorickshaw.
Meanwhile, panchayat officials have taken note of the villagers’ protest. Banakal Gram Panchayat development officer S.K. Chandravathi told The Hindu that she would submit a report on the matter to the district administration.
Similarly, the people of Didaga and Kabablli gram panchayats in Channrayapatna taluk have threatened to boycott the elections over the delay in supplying water to fill up tanks in the two panchayats. The villagers have circulated posts on social media appealing to the public to support their protest seeking water for 20 tanks. They say that if the tanks are provided with water, more than 35 villages will benefit.