Karnataka officials trek miles to reach Tricolour to tribal hamlets  

JOIDA: Eighty-year-old Babu, living in a remote tribal hamlet in Joida taluk, had not seen the Tricolour for many years. He was surprised when a team of panchayat members came knocking on his door with the Tricolour. He was not alone in receiving the national flag this year. Hundreds of such houses sparsely distributed deep inside the jungles have flags fluttering, thanks to the effort of officials. 

Officials from panchayats and Karnataka Forest Department waded though streams amid heavy rain and walked through leech-infested tracks to ensure that the Tricolour reached the last house. Joida taluk has many small villages that do not have schools or government offices. Also, as many elders here neither venture out nor do they have televisions at home, they have not seen the Tricolour in a while. 

The Bazarkung Panchayat is one of the largest panchayats with hundreds of houses located in different corners of the forest. The panchayat members prepared a detailed plan a week before the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign and started delivering the flags. Panchayat members, including from the opposition, joined hands in reaching the hamlets.

“As the planning for the campaign started early, we could reach the houses that are sometimes not accessible during rain. A team had to return from a hamlet near Diggi village as the stream was overflowing. We delivered the flag two days later when the water receded,” said a Panchayat member. 

The staff of Kumbarwada wildlife division in Kali Tiger Reserve too helped. RFO Shashidhar Patil said the forest staff deployed at anti-poaching camps ensured that the flags reached the hamlets. “We had heard about hoisting the national flag in front of our houses but we were not expecting that people will come and deliver the flags. We will save the flags for next year,” said a villager staying near Diggi.