BIDAR : Though Chondi Mukhed village of newly formed Kamalnagar taluk, surrounded by Maharashtra from all sides, is the only exclave of Karnataka state, its villagers are not behind in loving Kannada and Karnataka like people in other parts of the state.
The population of Chondi Mukhed as per 2011 Census was 1,617 and according to other surveys conducted recently, it has increased to 3,200. The majority of the people in the village identify themselves with Karnataka and are against any merger with the neighbouring state.
Satyakalabai Rakshal from the village, who is also the president of Chikli Grama Panchayat told TNIE that not once have the villagers expressed their desire to go with Maharashtra even though 90 per cent of the population speaks Marathi. “Though our mother tongue is Marathi, we love Kannada equally. We are emotionally attached to Karnataka”, she says.
Satyakalabai’s son Pradeep Rakshal, a BJP leader, says successive governments have neglected Chondi Mukhed. Late Manik Rao Patil Kushnoor and late Gurupadappa Nagamarapally who represented Aurad constituency to which Chondi Mukhed belonged,have not done much for the village, he said. It was a longstanding demand to set up both Kannada and Marathi medium schools in the village. But the government opened only a Marathi medium school up to class 8. Of the sanctioned strength of seven teachers, only a few are permanent. The government has appointed a guest teacher for Kannada language, said former Zilla Panchayat member Ramdas. “The guest teacher who teaches Kannada in the village has been entrusted with the same task in another village. As a result, the lecturer visits Chondi Mukhed only once a week”, says Ramdas.
Pradeep said that most of the students have to go to Mukrambad in Udgir of Maharashtra (about 25-30 km from Chondi Mukhed) to continue their education in Marathi medium. Bidar Deputy Commissioner Govind Reddy, he said that he has conducted ‘Jilladhikarigala Nade Halli Kade’ (Village Stay Programme) in the village in June and the problems of the village are being sorted out one by one.
