Vittala Malekudiya

Vinutha Mallya

Editor

large_01-Kuthluru-VM.jpg

medium_01-Kuthluru-VM.jpg

small_01-Kuthluru-VM.jpg

thumbnail_01-Kuthluru-VM.jpg

01-Kuthluru-VM.jpg

In
the densely wooded Kudremukh National Park hills, communities that have
historically lived in the forest lack the most essential facilities. Among them
is the Malekudiya community in Kuthluru village, where their 30 homes lack electricity
connections and water supply even today. “There is a major demand from the
people here for electricity,” says Shridhara Malekudiya, a farmer in Kuthluru,
which falls in Beltangadi taluka of
Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka. 



About
eight years ago, Shridhara bought a pico hydro generator to electrify his
house. His was among 11 homes to invest in generating their own power. “The
remaining houses have nothing – no electricity, no hydro power, no water
supply.” Now 15 homes in the village produce hydro electricity from pico hydro
machines. The small water turbine generates about 1 kilowatt of electricity –
enough for a couple of bulbs in a home.



Though
it is 18 years since the enactment of <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/the-scheduled-tribes-and-other-traditional-forest-dwellers-recognition-of-forest-rights-act-2006/">Forest
Rights Act</a>, basic infrastructure such as
water, roads, schools and hospitals granted under the law has not been
implemented for the people living in Kudremukh National Park. Electricity is just
one of the amenities that the Malekudiya community, a Schedule Tribe, is struggling
to get.

Postscript: This video was made in 2017. Kuthluru has not received electricity
supply until today.

In Kuthluru, waiting for the light to change

کُتلورو: ’بجلی کے بغیر زندگی مشکل ہے‘

కుత్లూరులో వెలుతురు కోసం ఎదురుచూపు

மாற்றத்துக்கான ஒளிக்காக காத்திருத்தல்

ਬਦਲਾਅ ਦੀ ਉਡੀਕ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੁਥਲੁਰੂ ਦੇ ਲੋਕ

ପରିବର୍ତ୍ତନର ଆଲୋକ ଅପେକ୍ଷାରେ କୁତଲୁରୁ

कुद्रेमुखच्या कुतलुरूत ‘फिटे अंधाराचे जाळे’

പ്രകാശത്തിനായുള്ള കുത്ത്‌ലൂരുവിന്റെ കാത്തിരിപ്പ്

कुतलुरु: ‘बिजली के बिना जीना मुश्किल है’

કુતલૂરુમાં વીજળીની વાટમાં

कुतलुरू मं अंजोर के अगोरा

कुथलुरु में प्रकाश के प्रतीक्षा में लोग

দিন বদলের আলোর অপেক্ষায় কুথলুরু

পৰিৱৰ্তনৰ এচমকা পোহৰৰ আশাত কুট্টুলুৰু গাঁও

ಬದಲಾವಣೆಯ ಬೆಳಕಿಗಾಗಿ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಕುತ್ಲೂರು

Beltangadi

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

In Kuthluru, waiting for the light to change

The Adivasi Malekudiya people living in Kudremukh National Park continue to struggle without basic amenities like water supply and electricity. But, as this video shows, they are meeting their power needs all on their own

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit