BALLARI: Yeswanthanagar village of Sandur taluk in Ballari district has made it to the big league — it’s one among seven villages in India chosen to be developed under the Union government’s Prabuddha Gram Yojana (scheme). The village is the only one chosen in entire South India.
Yeswanthanagar village is located about 13km from Sandur, and has a rich mining area. The village has a population of 9,000, and a 75% literacy rate. Under the project, the village will be developed as a model village, with the focus on basic amenities, cleanliness and digitisation. Sandur taluk has the highest numbers of mining units in Karnataka.
An official from the district administration confirmed that the Central Scientific and Instruments Organisation had announced Yeswanthanagar as one among six Prabuddha villages in India. “The scheme will improve the village in all aspects. The project is being taken up on a pilot basis and soon, more villages from different regions will be added under the scheme,” he said.
A few months ago, a central team visited the village and took down necessary details for documentation. “A DPR will be prepared, and the project will soon be implemented. Good roads, hospitals, electricity, drinking water and drainage facilities will be improved,” the official added.
The locals here are flush with pride that their village has been chosen for the Central government project. A local panchayat member said they were yet to receive any written communication from the Centre about the project. “But we have been told by the administration that Yeswanthanagar village has been picked under the Prabuddha scheme. The panchayat strives for development of the village with whatever funds we get. But this Central government scheme will be a boon,” the member said.