Udupi: Mansoon Problems in Kudru’s (Islands)

By Snehalatha, Udupi
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi, 27 May 2011: Coastal people who are burning in this scorching sun are looking forward to the rain to come, but there are also some people who curse the rain saying why this rain is coming. The life of these people cursing the rain becomes pathetic once the rain starts coming. Their children will be deprived from school or college for 3 – 4 months, daily labourers unable to go to work and will have to worry about their food,  those who are going to work in city will get firing from their Boss on the next day with unexpected leave, women who were to go to market to sell their vegetables are helpless and have to watch the vegetable rotten.

 

This is just a glance on the staggered and non-systematic life of the people of Kudrus of Udupi. In reality their life will be much more worse than this during the rainy season. On one side the river splits into branches and again joins into one thus it creates these Kudrus or Islands. In Udupi there are about 15 such Kudrus. Out of them some are about 10 – 15 acres in area and the others are about 80 – 100 acre in area. Leaving one or two Kudrus, all the others have 10 – 50 families living in them.

 

Once the monsoon starts, the Kudrus which were dried during the summer, will have the rivers around them gets filled and the Kudru residents get completely isolated from rest of the world. To go to either side of the shores the only way is to go through the ancient old wooden manual boats. It is a horrible situation in these boats which have to fight against the water current of the river as it crosses.

 

 

An example is the Bavali Kudru, which is at Sitha river at Nilavara in Udupi. Most of the families living in this Kudru are Catholic Christians. Five decades ago there were 50 families living here but it has dropped to only 20 now. The reason is, in the monsoon the children cannot cross across and will be deprived from the school education.

 

Apolin D’Souza an home maker resident here recalls her two children who were flown of in the river water current with the boat turning upside down, somehow managed to survive. Silvia unable send her son to school crossing the river even though he is eight years of age. Faustine D’Souza with tears filled recalls how she lost her sick husband as she could not take him for treatment crossing the river during mansoon.

 

Once the rainy season starts it becomes a curse to the people working in city, women and sick people. So more than 30 families had to leave behind their ancestors property and house here, migrating permanently. Even the remaining families here are also thinking to follow them.

 

The similar situations in School kudru, Kannada kudru, Benne kudru, Shetty kudru, Uppina kudru, Heri kudru, Devara kudru, Thimmana kudru, Kadekar kudru, Kemmannu kudru.... and so on, all these Kudrus have the similar problems.

 

There are only two solutions to this peoblem. First one is to provide a bridge or similar link for them and the second one is the migration of these families to other places leaving behind their ancestor’s properties. Even after so much of protest there is no action from the government so far, so the remaining solution is the second option...