Heavy Rain Leaves Over 25 Villages In Karnataka's Khanapur Without Power, Residents Travel 30 Km Just To Charge Phones

While the monsoon has brought much-needed rain to the region, it has also pushed thousands of residents into hardship, forcing them to live in darkness and travel long distances just to charge their mobile phones.

Khanapur, particularly its dense forest belt and villages located within and around the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, receives some of the highest rainfall in Belagavi district. Every monsoon, residents of the remote settlements face severe challenges as continuous rain often damages infrastructure and cuts off essential services.

This year has been no different. Heavy rain has lashed the taluk continuously for the last eight days, resulting in a prolonged power outage in villages including Krishnapur, Holda, Amagaon, Chirakane, Kongala, Gavali, Pastoli, Ashok Nagar, Nerase, Teregali, Habbanatti, Kalamani, Manturga and several others.

According to locals, electricity was disconnected by HESCOM officials after heavy rain accompanied by strong winds caused electric poles to collapse, raising fears of accidents and electrocution. While days are manageable, families are forced to spend their nights under candlelight and traditional oil lamps.

The prolonged blackout has severely affected children's education, household activities and communication. With mobile phones running out of battery, many residents have no option but to travel 20 to 30 kilometres through rain-soaked forest roads to Khanapur town to charge their phones. The situation has also raised concerns about emergency medical communication, as people are unable to make phone calls during health emergencies.

Road connectivity is available only up to Nerase and Chikale villages. Beyond that, villages such as Amagaon, Krishnapur, Holda, Chirakane, Kongala, Gavali and Pastoli are connected only by mud roads. Residents of Kongala, Gavali and Pastoli are forced to cross a wooden bridge built over the Bandura stream, risking their lives every time they travel. The villagers say these settlements continue to be deprived of basic infrastructure.When the ETV Bharat correspondent visited Nerase village, several houses remained dark even during daytime. Oil lamps had been lit inside homes due to the absence of electricity. Residents expressed frustration over what they described as years of official neglect."In cities, people become anxious if power goes off even for a minute. But we have been living in complete darkness for six days. Our mobile phones are switched off, and if someone falls ill, we cannot even make an emergency phone call. Despite facing so many difficulties, no one comes to listen to our problems. Public representatives visit us only during elections or official programmes, but nothing is done to solve our issues," said the villagers.DK Desai, a resident of Nerase, said the problems have persisted for generations. "We have been living with these hardships for decades. We still do not have proper roads. During the monsoon, if electricity goes off, it often takes 15 days to be restored. This year too, the same thing has happened. Electricity has been disconnected because of heavy rain and strong winds. Apart from this, wild animals frequently destroy our crops during the rest of the year. Life here has become extremely difficult," he said.Residents also said the power outage has disrupted drinking water supply."Our original village was submerged because of the Hidkal Reservoir, and we were rehabilitated here 42 years ago. Even after all these years, we continue to struggle with the lack of electricity, drinking water, roads and other basic facilities. MLAs visit us, promise to resolve our problems and then leave. Nothing changes," said Chandrakant Pujari, a resident of Ashok Nagar village.As heavy rain continues across Khanapur taluk, residents of these remote forest villages are urging the authorities to restore electricity at the earliest and take long-term measures to improve infrastructure so that they are not left isolated every monsoon.

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