It was 1983. Tragedy struck when seven women from Guheshwara Island in Bagalkot’s Jamkhandi taluk were crossing River Krishna. The gangala (a large metallic vessel) they were travelling in sank, taking their lives instantly. Following the incident, local legislator G S Bagalkot arranged for a hand-operated coracle. They used this for several years. However, their problem did not end there.
People staying in their farmhouses on the island found it difficult to reach Kankanwadi, the nearest village, while people from Kankanwadi faced challenges in reaching their sugarcane fields located on the island. Students from the island had to cross the Almatti backwaters to reach their schools everyday.
These hardships led locals to constantly appeal to leaders to construct a bridge to cross the backwaters. The legislators raised the issue in the Assembly as well. But officials felt that constructing a permanent bridge there was not feasible. For over two decades, there had been interstate discussions about increasing the height of the Alamatti reservoir gate. If this is carried out, a large portion of the island would be submerged. While the decision remains in policy limbo, locals have been arguing for a solution, as their lives and livelihoods are presently dependent on commuting to and fro from the island.
The villagers were, therefore, in no mood to give up until they found a better solution.
Attempt at a solution
Some six to seven years ago, a villager suggested joining two boats to transport sugarcane. They sourced two boats from nearby Jambagi, joined it together with sturdy planks, and tried transporting a sugarcane-laden tractor on it. This experiment worked and helped in bringing down the cost of transporting sugarcane to nearly Rs 200.
“Transporting sugarcane used to be challenging. We would first get the harvested sugarcane to the bank of the backwaters, load it onto the small boat, and then unload the sugarcane to a tractor once the boat reached the other end,” says Eshwar Karabasannavar, a local. A considerable amount of sugarcane would get damaged in this process.
“Transporting one tonne of sugarcane would cost us between Rs 700 and Rs 800. This made sugarcane farming unprofitable. Some farmers who were unable to transport their sugarcane to factories supplied it to traditional mills to turn it into jaggery at a lower cost,” he adds.
After the twin boat idea worked, farmers were able to transport their sugarcane. But people still struggled to cross the backwaters.
During the Guheshwar fair, the villagers would put up a floating raft-like structure on barrels in the backwaters. Taking a cue from this, the villagers thought of constructing a floating bridge in 2023.
However, the cost of the construction was estimated at Rs 30 lakh. So they began looking for sources for funds. They availed a loan of Rs 15 lakh from a temple (from the money collected in the temple) and Rs 15 lakh from a cooperative society.
Soon, a 600-foot-long and 8-foot-wide floating bridge was constructed using barrels, iron angles and planks. This bridge came as a big relief for the villagers, as people and two-wheelers could easily travel on it.
Once the bridge was ready, children began attending school on time and women began reaching fields on the island effortlessly. They even began transporting fodder for livestock and delivering milk to the dairy.
In a year or so, the villagers had put together Rs 20 lakh from the charges collected from farmers to transport sugarcane-laden trucks. While they spent Rs 5 lakh on maintenance, they could save Rs 15 lakh, and this was used to pay a part of the loan availed.
“The floating bridge has made it convenient for us to move in and out of the island,” says Sadashiva Kadageri, a farmer.
Yet, this is only a temporary fix. The floating bridge is rolled out during seasons where the flow of water in the river is lower, and in seasons where currents are forceful, the bridge is taken down, and people use boats to travel back and forth.
Villagers add that many political leaders attended the inaugural ceremony of the floating bridge. During their visit, the villagers asked for a big boat. The leaders promised to provide them with one, but have not done so till date.
It was probably delays like this that pushed the Kankanwadi villagers to construct the floating bridge and become a model for others.
How Guheshwara Island was formed
River Krishna splits into two branches forming Guheshwara Island. Before the construction of the Almatti reservoir the water flow was heavy only during the rainy season. Then people used to travel on a small bridge made of traditional materials. The problem began in 2004 after water started to be stored in Almatti reservoir. Over 500 acres of land owned by Kankanawadi villagers turned into an island due to the rising of the backwaters of the Almatti reservoir. Now people cultivate nearly 10000 tonnes of sugarcane and other crops there. This apart more than 250 families reside on the island with over 25 children attending school. There are over 270 cows producing 1500 litres of milk daily.
(Translated from Kannada by Divyashri Mudakavi)