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
January 10,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 10: Education technology company Byju’s is learnt to have raised $200 million in a funding round from Tiger Global Management, which has valued the Bengaluru-based start-up at around $8 billion, making it the third-largest unicorn (start-up valued over $1 billion) in the country.

With this, the Byju Raveendran-founded company has seen over 50 per cent jump in its valuation in just around nine months. In March 2019, Byju’s was valued $5.4 billion, when it raised around $31 million from General Atlantic, and Chinese investment giant Tencent.

At the current valuation, Byju’s has now replaced home-grown cab-hailing major Ola as the third-largest unicorn, next only to Paytm and OYO, which are valued around $16 billion and $10 billion, respectively.

Byju’s confirmed the transaction through a press statement, though the company declined to share any specific details of the deal. Tiger Global could not be immediately reached for its comments.

“We are happy to partner with a strong investor like Tiger Global Management. They share our sense of purpose and this partnership will advance our long-term vision of creating an impact by changing the way students learn,” said Raveendran. “This partnership is both a validation of the impact created by us so far and a vote of confidence for our long-term vision.”

This is Tiger Global’s first investment in the edutech space in India after Vendantu, an online tutoring platform, where it, along with WestBridge Capital, led a $42-million round in August.

An early backer of India’s internet growth story, the New York-headquartered Tiger Global has been a prolific investor in the Indian start-up space. Its portfolio in the country ranges from consumer focused e-commerce companies that are vital for the growth of the sector, such as Flipkart, Delhivery, Grofers, Quikr and PolicyBazaar, to mention a few.

After tasting success with Flipkart, one of its earliest investments, where it had pumped in around $1 billion, the PE major is now doubling down its focus on the Indian start-up space, under its new investment head Scott Shleifer.

Shleifer, who set up international private equity practice for Tiger Global, is said to be as aggressive deal maker like his predecessor Lee Fixel, who left the investment firm in March. Since then, Tiger has also invested in a host of technology-focused companies in diverse sectors including Ninjacart, CRED, NoBroker and Facilio to mention a few.

“Byju’s has emerged as the leader in the Indian education-tech sector. They are pioneering technology shaping the future of learning for millions of school students in India,” Shleifer was quoted in the press statement issued by the edutech firm.

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News Network
June 12,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 12: All the four candidates, including former prime minister H D Deve Gowda (JDS), and senior Congress leader Mallikarjna Kharge, on Friday were declared elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

Karnataka Assembly Secretary sources here said that all the four candidates, who were in the fray for as many berths, were elected after the last date of withdrawal of candidature ended on Friday.

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News Network
January 5,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 5: Lambasting Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa over the proposal to rename Ramanagara as Nava Bengaluru, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said that such a move will be an insult to Lord Ram, after whom the district is named.

In a series of tweets, Kumaraswamy accused that renaming the district was a pretext to sell its fertile irrigated land to capitalists. Yediyurappa also wants to settle a score with me by renaming it, he alleged

"If Yediyurappa wishes to develop Ramanagara, he should release the funds allocated in the budget. If you want to develop it further, you will find support from me and my people. But, don't set fire to the districts' culture and identity by changing its name," he tweeted.

Comments

Ahmed Ali Kulai
 - 
Monday, 6 Jan 2020

Dear CM

 

please dont follow UP CM-

Being a CM of Karnataka, please concentrate on the welfare of Kannadigas.

 

 

 

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