No drinking water, no toilets, faraway school: Villagers of Belagalu tell a tale of neglect

Residents of Belagalu hamlet in Shivamogga live without the most basic facilities like drinking water, electricity, toilets, transport, school, anganwadi centre among others

If parents in this Karnataka village want to send their children to an Anganwadi centre, they have to walk at least four kilometres through the forests. Children in primary school walk the distance every day to reach their school in the neighbouring village, which is part of the neighbouring district.

This is the plight of people residing at Belagalu village located on the borders of Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru districts. The village, with a population of 70 people on the backwaters of the Tunga Dam (Gajanur), is part of Shivamogga taluk, while the school in which the children have been admitted is located at Korala Koppa village in N.R. Pura taluk of Chikkamagaluru district.

“I was born here and hardly went out of the village all these years. Life has by and large, remained the same since my childhood,” said Kundramma, a senior citizen of the village, probably in her 70s.

The residents belong to Adi Karnataka community, a Scheduled Caste, and none of them owns a piece of land. Each family is cultivating about 20–30 guntas of land with no records in their name. They have applied to the government for the grant of the same land.

Both men and women earn their livelihood by working in agricultural fields. “Men get ₹500 a day, while women get ₹300. Except for the elderly and toddlers, everybody goes to work,” said Puttaswamy, who dropped out of school after Class 9.

Shwetha, who completed her B.Sc. last year, is the only person from the village to get a degree. A couple of students have joined diploma courses as well. But so far, nobody in the village has landed a job that earns a regular income.

None of the houses get drinking water. They fetch water from the Tunga Dam backwaters. “During summers, the water looks clean. When it starts raining, it turns muddy. But we have no alternative source,” said Bhogesh. Except for eight families, all other houses in the village are without a toilet.