Kundapur: Deprived of power and water, Pinganigudde residents lose patience

Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)

Kundapur, Mar 25: Residents of Pinganigudde second ward located within the limits of Tallur gram panchayat near here have been fed up over the repeated fake assurances doled out by people’s representatives during elections. The area, falling under Byndoor assembly constituency, has been suffering from lack of drinking water, power supply and proper infrastructure, and the people living here under trying circumstances, have decided to raise their voice.

Pinganigudde is located about three km away from Tallur via Parthigudde. Major part of the road leading to the village from Sablady is made of mud. During monsoon season, water from higher areas gush to the region, flooding the surroundings and turning the road slushy.

Even though two wells have been dug by the gram panchayat out of zilla panchayat schemes, water from these wells are not potable. A pump set stationed for pumping water to houses here developed problems several years back, and remains non-functional since then. Therefore, the people are forced to walk some distance to collect water from the tap.

The lives of the people become particularly treacherous during rainy season, as they have to wade through knee-deep water, making sure not to slip into unprotected percolation pits dug at a few places along the road. The tiny tots of the region have to walk through a pathway for two kms to reach Sablady, to attend Anganwadi centre.

Several families living here since generations, have not been allotted either the land documents, or the ration cards. Because of this problem, they are neither able to avail of benefits under various government schemes, nor get power connection. Absence of street lights and the problem of street dogs create added problems for school-going children, the people say.

Vasanti, a local, says that children find it hard to move through the road, which is not only muddy and full of pot holes, but also has drains at several places, endangering the road users. The long-standing demand and persistent approaches to government departments have not been able to get an Anganwadi centre for the village, she rues. Uday Kumar Tallur, social worker and district president of Bahujan Samaj Party, says that various protests had been organized in front of the gram panchayat, taluk panchayat, and taluk offices in the past, to draw the attention of the government to their plight, but none of the gram panchayat, talukpanchayat, and zilla panchayat members have done anything worthwhile to address their problems.

Kubera, president of Pinganigudde Action Committee, complained that the people’s representatives, who are sighted only during the election time, never make an effort to understand the problems of the local people after getting elected. He expressed his decision to organize stronger protests if the apathy towards the people here continues.