CHITRADURGA: Kattehole a tiny hamlet in Hiriyur taluk of Chitradurga district. It has not witnessed any development activities due to the apathy of both officials and politicians. The village is a just two tidy rows consisting of 35 houses, a school, a temple and a large banyan tree under which children play and men chat.Reaching this village is a difficult task as there are no proper approach roads. There is no electricity in the village. But 200 people call this place their home. They have some goats and grow vegetables.As the habitat at Kattehole forest was considered unauthorized, no government department was ready to improve the infrastructure in the village. Consequently, the villagers were spending sleepless nights for decades. However, since the last three years, they are getting light at night.SELCO Solar Pvt Ltd, a social enterprise established which provides sustainable energy solutions and services to under-served households and businesses, identified this remote village and supplied solar panels through bank loan and electrified the entire village.The solar panels have been purchased through the loans provided by the local branch of Pragathi Gramin Bank. SELCO has installed 11 solar panels at Kattehole and is about to install six more panels in the near future. Though each solar panel costs Rs 13,500, Rs 2,050 is paid as subsidy which is deposited in the bank, the rest Rs 11,450 is the loan amount that has to be repaid by the villagers in 60 installments over a period of 5 years in equal installments.Each month installment comes to Rs 250 which is much lesser than the amount spent on kerosene oil which was purchased to get light.With the setting up of solar lights, students are getting good results in their examinations as they can study at nights too now. The villagers also spend time chatting till late night which has strengthened their bonds.Lighting up livesSpeaking to The New Indian Express, Branch manager of SELCO (Magsaysay Award winner Harish Hande’s firm) Manjunath Bhagawath said, “It is really great to see an entire dark village in Katte Hole lightened by solar lamps provided by us”.Sharing his experience of lighting up the village, he said, “Even though we tried to persuade villagers to take up solar panels to lighten their homes, they were reluctant initially, but I took up this as a challenge and won their confidence and I became successful in installing solar panel units here.”“This has also improved the economic conditions of the people as they are involved in financial transactions with the bank. This is one of the part of corporate social responsibility of SELCO,” he added.Solar lights are indisputably superior compared to traditional kerosene lamps as they provide more powerful light without emitting the black, unhealthy soot now lodged in the lungs of so many villagers.“It is certainly an investment a few rural households can afford upfront, though they may spend just as much, or more, buying kerosene over a period of several years,” he observed.“Unlike other companies, SELCO aims at helping poor families meet their lighting needs at a minimum cost. Before any sale is under taken, we will hold in-depth discussions with clients about their evening activities and conduct a feasible study after which panels will be distributed,” Bhagawath said. He said the company will hold after sales service regularly so that villagers will not face any hiccups.Boralingayya and his wife Manjamma who are living in the village since thirty years said they never saw light in their home all these years. They used to spend nights in dull light emitted by kerosene lamps, that only accrued huge quantities of carbon leading to health hazards.He used to spend about Rs 100 for five litres of kerosene per week. However, since the installation of solar lighting system, milky light emitted by two CFL bulbs are glowing in his home. The bulbs were purchased from Rs 12,000 loan provided by the Pragathi Gramin Bank.Manjamma, a villager said, their family is growing vegetables and they are repaying the loan promptly. They are paying Rs 250 every month which is less than their earlier kerosene bill. They said the solar lamps are providing brighter and cleaner light.Manjula, a house wife who bought solar lighting system for her house said, “Life has improved since solar lights were installed at our home. Earlier, we used to sleep by 7pm but now our life has changed and we will sleep at 10pm now,” she added.“Solar lights have not only brightened our houses but also the life of our children as they are studying hard till late night”, she explained.EducationStudents who were earlier studying in a thatched hut in the village have now moved to a new school built under the Union Government’s ambitious “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” project. The new school is made of steel sheets. About 25 students are studying from first to fifth standards.A single teacher is handling the entire school supported by the students and residents of the village who are dreaming that their children will achieve something big in future.There are no desks or benches for students to sit and learn lessons at the school. They sit on the ground and there is an urgent need to provide benches to the children.Thimmanna, a villager, said, “Illiteracy is haunting us since ages. Our children should not be like us. Therefore, we need to provide them good education. The Education Department should construct a good school at this place and give our children an opportunity to come out with flying colours.”Basavaraj, the lone teacher of the school, mingles all students and teaches them. Students of first, second and third standards are grouped and taught under the “Nali-Kali” programme.Ranjitha, a fourth standard student, said, “Even though our teacher teaches well, we can’t concentrate on education at school as he has to take care of all five standards at a single stretch. We need one more teacher.”Pathetic conditionKattehole is neglected by both bureaucrats and politicians alike. The village has no proper drainage facility, drinking water and transport system.A borewell at the entrance of the village is the only source of drinking water to the entire village and they are collecting water by pumping the water.In this condition, cleanliness and hygiene are a distant dream for these hapless villagers.The villagers have to walk for more than four kilometres to reach the nearest point to board a bus to reach Hiriyur, the taluk headquarters. They have only three motorbikes to carry their produce to the market and travel to a doctor, in case of any emergency.They are all living in thatched huts since several decades. The government has not provided them proper houses under any scheme so far. Many times they have lost their huts to fire.Even though the villagers are living in this village since several years, they have not been given ownership of the houses or the agricultural lands.Even today, they are termed as unauthorized dwellers and cultivators. “Our repeated appeals have fallen on deaf years,” Boralingayya, a villager said.“We tried to build permanent houses. The Forest Department officials came and destroyed the structures,” he added.Gangamma, a 80-year-old woman, said, “Politicians come to get votes and forget their promise later. The government should regularize our stay here and improve basic infrastructure.”
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