MADIKERI: Come rains, the villagers of 2nd Monnangeri in Madikeri taluk face a lot of hardship. It is a landslide-prone area. With monsoon intensifying over the region, the school and Anganwadi have remained shut for over a week lately following rain and landslides for want of a bridge and other reasons.
The picturesque 2nd Monangeri was once a model village. However, the landslide of August 2018 turned the lives of nearly 400 villagers, most of them farm and estate workers, upside down. Since then, landslides have become common in the village during the monsoon season.
Presently, the children of the sole primary school and the Anganwadi are staying at home as a fresh landslide has left the path to the school cut off by a hill of sludges. The village is located about 8 km from Madikeri. It has only a weak makeshift bridge and the remnants of another washed-away bridge as the means of connectivity to the village. In case of any emergency, the villagers end up being stranded without proper road connectivity.
“The Ramakolli Bridge connecting the village to the National Highway was washed off in 2018. A sum of nearly Rs 20 lakh was sanctioned for a bridge, but the works remain incomplete,” explained Devaiah, a resident of the village.
The half-completed concrete bridge stands between the furiously flowing stream (carrying loads of silt) and this bridge has now been connected using wooden logs by the villagers.
“Every time children or elders have to reach the village, I stand guard and help them cross this bridge. While our problems could have been solved through scientific relief works, the same has not been possible and we are made to suffer every year during monsoon,” shared Jayaprakash, another resident who stays close to the bridge.
While the district administration, following complaints, has dumped a few sandbags in the area, the safety of the villagers has taken a back seat. The administration has also provided food kits to 20 families staying by the other side of the bridge.
Further, the children of the village are unable to attend school as many minor landslides have blocked several areas in the village. A bridge that had been built by the villagers across another stream in the village has also been washed away and villagers risk their lives trekking through sludgy soil and walking across the gushing stream to reach their houses.
"Only 20 families by the Ramakolli Bridge have received food kits. The others have not," confirmed Devaiah.
The village shelters over 300 families and has over 700 votes. The villagers also shared that the landslide in 2018 started off from a private resort in Galibeedu and the soil has lost its bonding capacity ever since.
"A hanging bridge connecting the village is the only solution left to ensure that the village stays connected during monsoon season," shared villagers Vittal Nayak, Raghav Gowda and others.