GADAG: Tucked away about 59 km from Gadag town, Gadagoli, a small village in Ron taluk has earned itself the moniker of Salman Khan village - not for its macho men, but for its scores of bachelors who haven’t been able to find a match over the last 10 years.These men, mostly farmers, are now asking officials to request former minister C C Patil and local MLAs to help them find brides as families are not willing to marry off their daughters to this village nor other flood-affected places.
Though 500 houses were built in the new village a few years ago, they have not yet been allotted to the affected families. Marriage proposals are turned down as the prospective grooms do not have proper houses and they are living in dilapidated houses with no proper windows and doors. The farmers here have lands, but are suffering due to financial crisis caused by continuous droughts and floods which have been plaguing this region since the last two decades.
A few wealthier men too have been unsuccessful in finding brides, given the condition of the village. But that has not been the case with girls from this village. “There are about 120 men in the 30-40 age group who are unmarried. We are waiting for houses till today,” a few youths said. A district official said, “A new village is ready, but some villagers refused to shift earlier and now the area is full of thorns and bushes. We will clean up the area and also repair some houses.”