A damned, doomed village

  • 29/03/2004

  • Deccan Herald (Bangalore)

No one would have heard of a hamlet called Anedoddi, six kilometres from Harohalli and barely 50 kms from Bangalore, in the heart of Kanakapura taluk of Karnataka. But this village was in the spotlight, when Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited it in October last, to disburse compensation to the widow of a farmer, who committed suicide due to heavy debts. At the time, the village came into media and political glare. Today, the village has gone back to being a non-entity. For, local politicians have conveniently forgotten promises of good water, pukka houses and good roads. The Congress had claimed it would "adopt' this village for holistic development. Ms Sonia had even promised "pukka' houses against the existing hutments. Water and roads were top priority. But the roads continue to be muddy.