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

Kundapur, Feb 21: Smiles are visible on the lips of residents of Kannadakudru, an isle that has remained backward, having been cut off from the mainland by water, for the first time. This isle falls within the limits of Hemmady gram panchayat in the taluk. These people had never before felt blessed to have been born here, but have begun to love the landed property handed over to them by their ancestors, as their long-cherished dream of development appears to be heading towards becoming a reality.

Kannadakudru is surrounded by water. It has been endowed with nature's bounty. One can see greenery of coconut trees and paddy fields all through the year in this small isle.
Development had remained a mirage for the people living here because they did not have a connecting bridge to easily go to and come back from the mainland.

Their long wait has begun to bear fruits, and the work on constructing a bridge with a project cost of Rs 7.5 crore has begun. The work of depositing mud into the rivulet and digging of pits for building pillars has been initiated. Going by the brisk pace of work at present, everyone expects that pillars will be constructed before the onset of next monsoon, and the bridge will be opened for public use by the end of this year.

With the work on building a bridge between Muvattumudi and Kannadakudru is gaining momentum, the expectations of people are getting wings. So far, the people were entirely dependent on boats, travel by which used to be very dangerous during monsoon months. They now have begun to feel that this ordeal will be history soon, and vehicles will start moving in and out of the isle and parked vehicles can be seen in front of houses here once the bridge is completed. Apart from witnessing social and cultural progress, this isle is also likely to get a boost in terms of exploitation of its tourism potential.

Contract for the construction of this bridge has been bagged by Philip D'Costa Koni. The fact that Kody-Kundapur bridge had been completed within the prescribed time recently has given rise to the hopes that this bridge also will come up at a fast pace.

The isle is spread over about 100 acres of land. It had 70 families in the past, but with the migration of families on account of transportation problems, 60 families continue to reside here, and the population of the isle is 850. Since hundreds of years the people of Kannadakudru have been totally dependent on boats, be it for treatment, buying of rations, banking activities, schooling, and other services. In the past, a lower primary school used to function here, but it was closed eight years back for lack of enough student strength. Now, the only institution that imparts education here happens to be Anganwadi, and for schooling and higher education, children have to depend entirely on boats.

The people of this area, who had been doggedly pursuing with their demand for a bridge, have now heaved a sigh of relief. With the efforts of people's representatives and leaders, their dream project has been sanctioned. Hundreds of people breathed their last, without getting their hopes of seeing the bridge materializing in front their eyes. A number of children had suffered because of floods which blocked them from attending schools. Several alliances, which otherwise would have been finalized, could not be cemented because of the difficulty in reaching this isle. All these will soon be things of the past, as the present generation is seeing the dream that had been conceived since the times of their forefathers, materializing now.