Shivamogga Villagers Rely on Coracles for Daily Commute

Speedy Summary

• Tragic Incident: A 20-year-old resident, Poornesh, drowned after a fibre coracle capsized in teh Chakra dam backwaters near Kattinahole village, Shivamogga district, Karnataka. His body was recovered the next day.
• Community Struggles: The hamlet of bentodi is surrounded by backwaters and lacks an accessible road or bridge. During monsoons, the area is cut off due to submerged roads.
• Historical Context: A footbridge existed earlier but was lost after Chakra dam construction in the 1970s submerged the stream connecting Bentodi with neighboring villages.
• Schoolchildren at Risk: Six children from Bentodi cross waters daily via coracles to attend school; families are deeply concerned about thier safety post-tragedy.Parents now prefer their children to stay with relatives for schooling.
• Economic Hardship: Residents belong to a Scheduled Caste (Adi Karnataka community), lack ownership of farmland, and rely on subsistence farming or laboring in nearby villages.
• Call for Goverment Action: Residents demand a bridge for connectivity. Elected representatives have been petitioned previously; local leaders have proposed reusing parts of a defunct hanging bridge from another location.

indian Opinion Analysis

The tragic death of Poornesh underscores critical infrastructure deficiencies faced by remote communities like Bentodi in rural India. Despite contributing years of appeals for improved connectivity, these residents remain isolated during rainy seasons due to policy inactivity or resource allocation gaps.

This incident serves as an urgent call for government action beyond temporary measures or inspections that yield little tangible enhancement over decades. The dependence on unsafe alternatives like coracles not only endangers lives but perpetuates socioeconomic challenges-restricting access to education and economic opportunities while compromising basic safety and equality.Building permanent infrastructure such as bridges could significantly improve quality-of-life metrics for marginalized rural communities while addressing historical inequities experienced by underprivileged groups like Scheduled Castes.

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