CHIKBALLAPUR : Chikballapur has been in dire need of a solution for water scarcity. Farming is a major source of income here. The district supplies cereals, fruits as well as vegetables to Bengaluru.
Poor income and even greater losses result in many farmer suicides here. Continuous demands from farmers for a better procurement have fallen on deaf ears. The state government had offered Yettinahole project to the water-scarce lands here as a solution but delays have plagued the project. There is a lot of cynicism about when the farmers will actually receive this water.
In such a situation, many farmers here are turning to other methods of earning. Gopal B lives on a farm with his wife and daughter. He grows vegetables on the farm and has a small dairy with four cows. However, financial difficulties have forced him to take up another job as a tailor. He is now a trained fashion designer. Interestingly, he also reached out to many youngsters who want to be trained and he does it for free. He has coached about 100 youngsters for free till now, he said.
Though farmers like Gopal try their best to help others while eking out a living doing two jobs, there is little sympathy for them from the local administration.Gopal’s mother died less than two weeks ago. Since his father passed away some years ago, and the land inheritances would have been divided equally between Gopal and his nine siblings, they needed his mother’s death certificate.
However, Gopal was in for a rude shock when the officers in-charge of his mother’s death certificate refused to give it. They said they needed a doctor’s certificate. “The doctor said he cannot give a certificate unless I have proof that she has died,” he said. When Gopal explained that his mother had died due to old age, the doctor said the only way he could give a certificate was by exhuming the body. Gopal, who could not bear to even think about it, returned heavy-hearted.
However, he said said despite all the apathy he has faced, he will still go ahead and vote. “We come from a traditional family of voters and I will cast my vote this time,’’ he says with enthusiasm.