Karnataka First

Five of Udupi district’s 155 grama panchayats have earned the prestigious National Panchayat Awards, achieving the rare distinction of winning national recognition simultaneously for their work despite operating with limited resources.

Madamakki, Hakladi, Vandse, Mudradi and Sanoor grama panchayats have been recognised for their achievements in water management, social security, healthcare, women’s empowerment and infrastructure development. Their success stories offer examples of how grassroots initiatives can create meaningful change in rural communities.

At the same time, however, the glow of these awards contrasts with some persistent ground realities in these villages, including inadequate electricity supply, damaged roads and limited employment opportunities. Here is a detailed look at the achievements as well as the challenges faced by these award-winning panchayats.

Madamakki: A ‘water-sufficient’ village

Located on the edge of the forests in Hebri taluk, Madamakki Grama Panchayat has emerged as a model in water management by supplying piped water to more than 800 households using just nine borewells and three public wells.

The formula for success

• Water meters have been installed in all 800 households, while monthly charges are collected through ‘Nal-Jal Mitras’. Water quality is tested every month.
• Overhead tanks are cleaned once every four months, while strict measures are taken to prevent water leakage.
• Even poor families without RTC documents are provided with piped water supply.
• Under the MGNREGS, more than 100 wells and over 50 check dams have been constructed. Two Madagas have been desilted to provide water for animals and birds and help recharge groundwater. Soak pits and rainwater harvesting have also been given priority.

Electricity and road infrastructure remain a concern

Despite adopting several measures to ensure the success of development works, the village has another side to its story. Several households still do not have electricity connections.

“I have a child studying at home and we are living in a hut. Please provide electricity for my child’s future,” a resident, Saku, said, expressing her anguish.

The presence of unpaved roads also makes travel difficult during the monsoon. Residents have urged the authorities concerned to take steps to address these basic infrastructure problems.

Hakladi: Social security for all

Hakladi Grama Panchayat in Kundapur taluk has won recognition in the social security category by achieving 100 per cent coverage of eligible beneficiaries under pension schemes, providing special identity cards to persons with disabilities and strengthening healthcare security.

Key achievements

• A total of 1,320 eligible beneficiaries receive monthly pensions under schemes including Sandhya Suraksha and Maithri.
• Rations and pensions are delivered directly to the homes of 12 bedridden patients.
• All 102 persons with disabilities in the village have been issued UDID cards.
• As many as 4,800 Ayushman Bharat cards have been distributed to eligible families, while 18 houses have been constructed for SC/ST families.

Road outside GP office in poor condition

While the panchayat has succeeded in ensuring social security for all, locals are unhappy that the road directly in front of the gram panchayat office is in a severely damaged condition, making travel difficult for motorists and the public.

Vandse: A healthy panchayat

Vandse Grama Panchayat has given special emphasis to healthcare, education, sanitation and women’s empowerment. It has received the Healthy Panchayat award in recognition of the distinctive community palliative care services being provided in collaboration with the Niramaya Society.

Revolutionary steps

• A total of 305 people from Vandse and six surrounding panchayats have been identified and are receiving care. They include people suffering from chronic and terminal illnesses, senior citizens, those experiencing depression and people abandoned by their families.
• The centre’s staff provide continuous services to 71 bedridden persons, 122 people dependent on others for their daily needs and 112 patients suffering from terminal illnesses.
• Two ambulances and a freezer box for preserving bodies have been provided for the convenience of patients and their families.

The panchayat’s continued encouragement has also produced a significant turnaround in education. The number of students at Vandse Government School has risen from just 89 in 2015 to 334 today.

Mudradi: Moving towards a poverty-free panchayat

Mudradi Gram Panchayat in Hebri taluk has rewritten the story of rural poverty eradication and women’s self-reliance by successfully organising women’s self-help groups under the Sanjeevini scheme.

Women-led economic transformation

• A total of 650 women have been organised into 65 active self-help groups, with 100 per cent bank linkage provided to all members.
• Loans amounting to Rs 1 crore have been facilitated to establish small businesses. In this agriculture-dominated region, women are engaged in activities including pickle-making, preparation of chicken rotti, beekeeping and running beauty parlours.
• An appropriate market mechanism has been created under the Sanjeevini scheme for local products made by women.
• All eligible beneficiaries have been provided 100 per cent coverage under social security schemes, including the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme of the Union government, the state government’s old-age pension and widow pension schemes.

Sanoor: Building towards self-reliance

Sanoor Grama Panchayat in Karkala taluk, with a population of 7,371, has demonstrated considerable efficiency in creating infrastructure conducive to village self-reliance despite geographical challenges.

Challenges faced by the panchayat

• Heavy monsoon rainfall in the coastal region causes roads to deteriorate every year, posing a major challenge to infrastructure maintenance.
• The panchayat had faced difficulties in finding suitable land for constructing a Solid and Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) unit and commercial complexes.

Scientific solutions and achievements

• Overcoming the shortage of land and other challenges through scientific planning, the panchayat renovated and transformed its gram panchayat building into a well-equipped facility with modern amenities. It has now become a centre for transparent administration.
• Through several innovative initiatives, systems have been put in place to ensure that all services available to the public under the Panchayati Raj system are delivered conveniently and transparently.

The five Udupi panchayats are among the six Karnataka panchayats recognised under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP) for 2025.

The Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj has recognised Mudradi for poverty-free and enhanced livelihoods, Vandse for healthcare, Madamakki for water sufficiency, Sanoor for self-sufficient infrastructure and Hakladi for social justice and social security.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

‘Bengaluru ‘47: Forgotten Stories of Freedom’ will be held at RBANM’s High School from August 14 to 23

After leaders of the Indian freedom movement adopted the Swaraj Flag featuring the charkha in 1931, the colonial government banned it’s carrying and hoisting. In an act of defiance, freedom fighters across the country hoisted the flag. In Karnataka, N.V. Krishnamachari was a prominent figure in the flag resistance. Despite a brutal lathi charge by British forces on protesters during the satyagraha, Krishnamachari continued to carry the flag defiantly.

A photo of the bloodstained flag, which is today housed at Vidhana Soudha, will be showcased at “Bengaluru ‘47: Forgotten Stories of Freedom”, an exhibition that will be held at RBANM’s High School from August 14 to 23. The exhibition, organised by the INTACH Bengaluru Chapter, together with RBANM’s Educational Charities, #ReclaimConstitution, and 1Shanthiroad, will showcase artefacts related to the Indian freedom movement and highlight lesser-known stories of Bengaluru’s role in the freedom struggle.

Bengaluru’s role in freedom struggle

“Ordinary Bengalureans participated in the freedom movement in several ways — from massive protests by students, workers, and others; to buying khadi and burning foreign-made cloth; to calling for the entry of all castes into temples; to printing and distributing pamphlets. Through interviews, archival newspaper clippings, maps, pamphlets, and other materials, this exhibition provides a glimpse of the atmosphere on the streets of Bengaluru, and an insight into the lives of people who experienced those tumultuous times,” the organisers said.

The exhibition will feature several artefacts, including a facsimile of S.K. Kareem Khan’s autobiographical note, in which he recounts the freedom struggle in Karnataka and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. It will also display a Tamra Patra (copper plate), charkhas belonging to N.V. Krishnamachari, and a photograph of his bloodstained flag.

As part of the event, a spinning workshop will be held on August 16 by The Art of Spinning. Other events include a storytelling session for adults on August 18 by Vikram Sridhar, a talk by historian Ramachandra Guha titled “R. Gopalaswamy Iyer and Dalits in Princely Mysore” on August 19, and an evening with T.M. Krishna on August 22.

Midnight flag hoisting

The RBANM’s High School grounds will also witness the fourth edition of the Midnight Flag Hoisting on August 15, organised by #SatyamevaJayate, a collective of progressive artists and citizens.

“Hoisting the flag at midnight on August 15 was a tradition followed by freedom fighters since 1947, and in Bengaluru, Sajjan Rao Circle and Mysore Bank Circle were traditionally the spots for midnight flag hoisting. #SatyamevaJayate wants to keep this tradition alive after having revived it in 2023,” the organisers said.

The run-up to the flag hoisting will feature performances by artists including Scyrn (heavy metal), Alva Kuuto (Tulu rock), Navya Rudrappa (sitar), Dr. Haider Saif (poetry and Sufi), and Punit Pania (stand-up comedy). The students of RBANM’s institutions will present performances that capture the school’s connection to the freedom struggle movement in Bengaluru.

The entry to the event is free and open to all, starting at 5 p.m. on August 14, and will conclude with the hoisting of the flag at the stroke of midnight on August 15.

A counter to RSS

“Soon after Independence, the RSS wanted to hold a mega conclave. However, they did not find any takers until the Mysore Congress Council of Ministers stepped in. In the mega rally that took place in Bengaluru, then chief of the Hindu Mahasabha B.S. Moonje abused Gandhiji in indescribable language. Not one Congressman objected, except Roomale Channabasappa, who wrote a strongly worded response to Moonje’s vitriolic speech. It was shortly after the RSS rally that Gandhiji was assassinated.”

This revealing passage is an excerpt from an autobiographical note written by S.K. Kareem Khan, a freedom fighter and folklorist from Karnataka, who passed away 20 years ago in 2006. The note will be on display at ‘Bengaluru ‘47’.

“Worried about the negative impact casteist forces were having on the minds of young people, Dr. (Narayan Subrao) Hardikar set out to revive the Congress Seva Dal. He was supported by Rumale Channabasappa, T. Siddalingaiah, Kareem Khan, Haranahalli Ramaswamy, and Sardar Venkataramayya,” his note further reads.

Khan, who was born in Sakleshpur, joined the Indian freedom movement and, deeply inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, wore khadi till the end of his life. Along with N.V. Krishnamachari, he participated in the Shivapura Dhwaja Satyagraha in 1938, where, defying British orders, the National Flag was hoisted. Khan used folklore and folk songs to mobilise people, especially the rural masses, for the cause of the freedom struggle.

While he always exhorted Indian Muslims to join the Indian National Congress instead of the Muslim League, his notes show how, ironically, after Independence, the Congress alienated the four Muslim leaders who had fought for freedom alongside them, and instead embraced leaders from the Muslim League. Despite that, he worked as a foot soldier of the party and campaigned for Congress leaders in the first election of 1952, going from village to village.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)