Udupi: Villagers of Devarabalu Remain Cut Off From Civilization

Aishwarya Beejady
Daijiworld Media Network—Udupi (RD/CN)

Udupi, Jan 5: A remote village in the taluk made the national news five years ago.  The mainstream media had reported that two Naxals were slain in this remote village by the police.

Ministers arrived by crossing the wooden bridge and moved by the plight of locals, offered assurances of improving the much needed infrastructure facilities. Some of them even wondered whether such a village exists in free India.  This is Devarabalu village which hoped to see progress in the wake of this incident. But this is yet to happen.

Devarabalu village, which comes under the limits of Hallihole gram panchayat, lies in the foothills of Western Ghats in the taluk, and is still away from the modern world.  The people in Devarabalu live their primitive lives without any sign of progress.

The state administration announced that it was releasing funds under the Naxal package to Devarabalu after two naxals – Ajit Kusubi and Umesh Mudigere—were slain there.  A bridge erected near the house of Narasimha Naik lies in a deplorable condition, an ideal example of sub-standard quality of work. It also conveys the stupidity of the local administration.

Devarabalu and Kattinady are two villages, separated by a rivulet.  There are about 55 families living in both villages which have to depend on a wooden bridge to attend to their daily necessities.  Nearly 28 families are yet to get title deeds for their houses.  A road that was laid from Chakra Maidan to Devarabalu under Pradhan Mantri’s Gram Sadak Yojana during 2009–10 lies in a deplorable state with the asphalt peeled away and its condition has changed into a dirt road now.

Devarabalu village lies just 1 km away from Chakra Maidan, Hallihole, in the woods. The people have to walk miles together as the tar road has turned into a dirt road, shunned by motorists.  The sick and ailing suffer the most, as taking them across two rivulets is a Herculean effort. 

The critically sick have to be carried and transported to Siddapura, covering nearly 22 kms.  The people are helpless if one becomes critically ill.  The villagers earn their livelihood by farming their patches of land.  It’s an irony that the tribals living in these villages have no drinking water facility, roads, hospitals, educational institutions, or ration facilities.  The tribals are used to jungle living and live in fear as Naxal activities have once again cropped up in the neighbouring areas.  

“I have been running a mobile shop for the benefit of people living in this god forsaken village of Devarabalu, despite running losses, over the past five years.  I do give credit on daily necessities out of my social concern,” said Ramanna Shetty, a native of Hallihole.