Declining areca yield, lack of amenities forcing residents of village surrounded by Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka to move out

Residents of Bhalekadi, Karnataka, face declining areca yields and lack of amenities, prompting demands for rehabilitation from the government.

“I get rice free from the government of Karnataka under the Annabhagya scheme. But, to carry it home, I need to spend ₹600 on an autorickshaw,” says Sunitha, a resident of Bhalekadi, a village in Kere gram panchayat of Sringeri taluk in Chikkamagaluru district. This statement of Sunitha, who is from a tribal community (Gowdlu/Malekudiya), sums up the hardship faced every day by residents of Bhalekadi, which is surrounded by the Kudremukh National Park.

Residents of Bhalekadi village live on the boundaries of Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka. As the village is interspersed with a national park, which is a protected area, the government hardly takes up any development work in the village | Photo Credit: Sathish .G.T

Lack of basic amenities, coupled with diseases bringing down yield in arecanut farms, have prompted the villagers to move out of the region where they have lived for generations. As the village is interspersed with the national park, the government hardly takes up any development work in the village.

“If someone falls sick and needs urgent emergency healthcare, it takes hours to reach the nearest hospital in Sringeri, about 26 km from our village,” explained Rangappa. A couple of months ago his wife, Sunitha, developed chest pain. It took him more than an hour just to arrange for an autorickshaw to take her to the hospital. Later, she was moved to Manipal in neighbouring Udupi district for better treatment.

Bhalekadi is home to about 45 families. They have built houses in revenue land and their own farmland, where they have been cultivating arecanut. In recent years, yellow-leaf disease and leaf-spot diseases has decreased the yield substantially.   | Photo Credit: Sathish G.T.

Bhalekadi is home to about 45 families. They have built houses in revenue land and their own farmland, where they have been cultivating arecanut. In recent years, yellow-leaf disease and leaf-spot diseases has decreased the yield substantially.