Haveri: Woman from nomadic group is GP chief

HAVERI: A woman gram panchayat member, belonging to the nomadic (Duragamurugi) community, has become the chief of the local body at Kaginele, which is the ‘karma bhoomi’ of saint Kanakadasa in Haveri district.
The post of GP president was reserved for a Scheduled Tribe (ST) woman, and Guttevva Duragamuragi (in pic) from the community was elected unanimously on Tuesday. Guttevva was elected from ward number 4 of Kaginele with a 52-vote margin in the GP elections held in March-end.
Kaginele GP has only five families from Duragamurugi community, which has been living on the outskirts of the village for the past 25 years. With no permanent shelter, they stay in huts.
Recently, the GP supplied them drinking water and power.
Guttevva, being the GP chief, wants to provide houses, complete with basic amenities, to the underprivileged. She said: “Our elders had migrated from Vijayapura to Kaginele for begging. Though we don’t usually live at one place, the people of Kaginele were magnanimous and allowed us to stay on. The people of ward no. 4 e elected me, and I feel fortunate to have become the GP chief because of the reservation.”
She also said that she will strive to take the facilitires extended by the GP to intended beneficiaries. “Taking other members and the PDO into confidence, I will ty and make Kaginele GP a model local body,” Guttevva added.
PDO Vishwanath Kattegoudra said Guttevva, despite being an illiterate, has seen up close the plight of poor people, especially those who don’t have basic amenities. “She has discussed many ideas with me pertaining to the GP’s development.”
The Duragamurugi community, one of the nomadic communities in North Karnataka, has been into begging for generations. They carry with them the idol of goddess Durgamma and play drums (or even beat themselves up with a hunter).