Mudigere, Mar 19: People from a remote village in Banakal hobli of Mudigere taluk which falls under Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency, have decided to boycott the general elections as their long-pending demands for basic amenities have not been met.
The residents of Chegu near Banakal town have put up a banner disclosing their plan to attract the attention of the district administration. The villagers have been demanding road connectivity to Banakal.
“The village comes under Banakal Gram Panchayat. The road to the village has not been asphalted for the last two decades. The road is filled with potholes, inconveniencing the vehicle users. There are no buses connecting the village. We have to depend on private vehicles to reach the main road. With the pothole-filled road, even private vehicles refuse to ferry passengers to the village,” complained the villagers.
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.
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 said that she would submit a report on the matter to the district administration.
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