Ramadurga (Belagavi District): The rainy season brings joy to many, but for the children of Lakshminagar village, it signifies hardship. With no primary school in the village, children must walk 2 km to Udachammanagar for their education, crossing the Satyamma stream, which swells dangerously during rains.
When the stream’s flow increases, schools must close, and parents anxiously await their children’s return. On numerous occasions, children have had to stay overnight by the stream until the water recedes. Parents often have to carry their children across the dangerous ditch, which transforms the village into a barricade during heavy rains.
Lakshminagar, home to 40 families and 30 school-going children, lacks basic infrastructure, including a primary school, road, bridge, and bus services. Despite promises from officials and boycotting the Lok Sabha elections in protest, the villagers have seen little improvement.
Former MLA Mahadevappa Yadavada and current MLA Ashoka Pattana have yet to fulfill promises of building a bridge. However, Basavaraja Ainapur, Executive Officer of Taluk Panchayat Ramadurga, assured that a bridge construction project under the Sangala Gram Panchayat’s employment guarantee scheme would soon commence to alleviate these issues.
Villager Nagappa Adagal highlighted that flooding disrupts not only the children’s education but also agricultural activities, making it difficult for the community to sustain their livelihoods. The community remains hopeful that the promised infrastructure will soon become a reality, bringing much-needed relief to Lakshminagar.
