Moved by the plight of students, this school-dropout petty-shopkeeper constructs a hanging bridge

Harsha Raj Gatty | coastaldigest.com
October 22, 2018

Moved by the plight of children in his village not being able to attend school due to lack of connectivity, especially during rains, this 7th standard pass, petty shop owner poured in his hard-earned savings to construct a hanging bridge across Kapila river and ensured Polipu village in Belthangady has connectivity at all times.

At 32-years, Balakrishna Shishila, a resident of Shishila of Belthangady in Dakshina Kannada district said he had to drop out of school owing to family circumstances. However, children from his village missing or dropping out of school just due to lack of connectivity deeply disturbed him.

“Lives of over 15 families depend on the bridge across Kapila River. Earlier, areca stumps and other temporary structures were laid as footbridges. However, these makeshift structures failed to withstand the heavy rains that lash the region. The village was stranded every rainy season, while pleas to construct a permanent bridge to the gram panchayat authorities fell on deaf ears,” he tells coastaldigest.com.

Balakrishna says he put an appeal at the beginning of July with the local authorities for a bridge. Upon not receiving any response, he with the help of 10 other youth from the village, took up the task of constructing a hanging bridge, which was ready by mid-July.

“During my childhood days, I used to construct swing using wood and rope. Using a basic sketch and using Nylon ropes, metal and barks from the local trees, a bridge-like structure was constructed. For the purpose, I used Rs 30,000 from my savings, with which I also need to look after my family of five," he says.

The 35 meters long hanging bridge, across the rivulet, is built at a height of 15 meters and is 3 meters wide. For the last three months, over 15 children, use this bridge to attend schools at Shishila and nearby villages. The bridge has also become a boon for women and elderly, who earlier had no option other than the footbridge or had to wade through water to reach the other side. Krishna Prakash, a localite says that the biggest worry during rains was medical emergencies. “Lack of connectivity made it challenging for people to go to hospitals during emergencies. This bridge helps us to move in a short duration.”

Meanwhile, Balakrishna says that the recent rains that lashed in the region have affected Belthangady too. "The roads were totally damaged, and vehicles were not able to ply on the same. As the panchayat officials turned a blind eye, it was once again the villagers who pooled the money to repair the road,” he adds.

Although Balakrishna has been repeatedly hailed as a 'Hero' by the locals, the cost towards the bridge is yet to be recovered. "Initially, the village panchayat supported the project. But now there is no news or concern on the reimbursement of the amount. Given our financial status, it would aid us a lot if my family could receive the amount," he said.

Comments

Shakeel
 - 
Sunday, 4 Nov 2018

Good job by Mr. Balakrishna. Hatsup to you

Well Wisher
 - 
Monday, 22 Oct 2018

Dear, it's a great work. Kudos,

Would like to see u as India's PM

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News Network
February 24,2020

Hubli, Feb 24: Pro-Pakistan slogans were found written on the walls and doors of Higher Primary School in Budarsingi village here on Monday, said Raman Gouda Hatti, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), DCRB, Dharwad.

"The headmaster of the school noticed the slogans written on the walls and doors by chalk and he informed us. We will investigate the matter based on the complaint," said DSP Hatti.

The slogans were written in the Kannada language. Those behind the incident have not been identified so far.

The villagers staged a protest demanding action against those behind the act.

Congress leader HK Patil condemned the incident and asked for culprits to be identified and punished soon.

"Anti-social elements are involved in these acts. The government has failed to identify these people and punish them. The culprits behind this act need to be identified and punished. This incident is unfortunate and the intelligence department should work to stop these kinds of incidents," said Patil.

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News Network
March 5,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 5: The Karnataka government has advised city-based companies to allow their employees to work from home if they have flu-like symptoms.

"Those employees having flu like symptoms may be allowed to work from home with advice of standard hand hygiene and cough etiquette," the Health Department said in its advisory.

The advisory asked people to avoid non-essential travel to COVID-19 affected countries and refrain from travel to China, Iran, Republic of Korea, Italy and Japan.

"Employees other than those restricted countries arriving directly or indirectly from China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Hong Kong, Maccau, Veitnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, the UAE and Qatar must undergo medical screening at airport entry," the advisory read.

The government advisory also mandated employees arriving through all international flights entering lndia from any port to furnish duly filled self-declaration form, including personal particulars - phone numbers and address in India, and travel history to health officials and immigration officials.

It also appealed to promote regular and thorough hand washing at work places and keeping sanitising hand rub dispensers (alcohol-based) in prominent places and provide access to places where staff can wash their hands with soap and water.

Companies have been asked to promote good respiratory hygiene and ensure the availability of surgical masks and paper tissues at workplaces only for those who develop a running nose or cough at work along with closed bins for their hygienic disposal.

Meanwhile, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner B H Anil Kumar chaired a meeting on Wednesday regarding the preparedness to deal with coronavirus.

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Media Release
July 31,2020

Mangaluru, July 31: Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has unveiled a campaign both on digital media and outdoor billboards on bringing awareness on the right usage of masks, social distancing and hand washing in the fight against COVID19. The campaign has received very good response and attention on social media and with the citizens of Mangaluru.

While the numbers of Covid-19 infected people were increasing and a vaccine would take some more time it was observed that norms of social distancing and other precautionary practices were thrown to the wind. Many people in Dakshina Kannada were found using masks inappropriately. Wearing a mask in a scientific way by covering both the nose and mouth is imperative to control droplets that spread the virus. We need to rise above our inconvenience to fight the virus.

Considering this the KCCI found an immediate need to bring awareness and constant reminder to people on the right usage of masks, social distancing, washing hands and other dos and don’ts to stay ahead of the virus and beat the pandemic.

A digital campaign and an outdoor advertisement campaign were planned by the chamber to remind and encourage people to follow best practices when interacting with others. 

The theme of the Campaign was decided to be “Let’s Fight Back Together” Origin Designext a Creative Agency in Mangalore was roped in to do the creative for the campaign and a team from KCCI worked with the Agency to shape up the campaign with their inputs. In the meantime Indian Red Cross Society Dakshina Kannada and Rotary Mangaluru expressed their interest to support the Campaign. 

Mangaluru based outdoor agencies like Jyothi Advertisers, Kalkura Advertisers and Gee Dee Advertisers agreed to provide outdoor space gratis to this community service campaign. Presented both in English and Kannada, the campaign has been creating waves on social media and on the street, a sign that it is being very well received by the populace of Mangalore city. 

The creative of Half Covered or Half exposed where a model is shown with a mask that exposes the nose and KA-19 v/s COVID-19 (KA-19 being the Vehicle Registration Code for the District) have been particularly making a buzz in the community. All together 14 hoardings are currently on display with various Covid-19 awareness messages. Many business houses have shown interest to participate in this public awareness campaign.

The Chamber hopes this campaign would go a long way in the fight of the city against COVID-19 and play its role in putting the pandemic behind us. “Businesses and our economy has suffered enough, we need to work together to fight this virus, we need to rise above minor inconvenience and win this war,” says Isaac Vas the President to KCCI.

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