'No TV, no mobile': Karnataka village switches off screens for two hours daily to boost learning, community interaction

Every evening at 7 pm, a siren is sounded in Halaga village near Belagavi to mark the start of the no-screen period

At 7 pm, a siren sounds in Halaga, a village near Belagavi in Karnataka and all screens, including televisions, mobile phones, laptops, and tablets, are turned off for the next two hours.

The community-led initiative is an effort to promote learning among students and family/community interaction in the evening hours.

The 'digital detox' initiative, 'No TV, no mobile, just study and conversation', is said to be the first such to be adopted by a Karnataka village.

The village, home to about 12,000 people, is located on the outskirts of Belagavi city, close to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.

A siren system has been installed at the gram panchayat office. Every evening at 7 pm, the siren is sounded to mark the start of the no-screen period. At 9 pm, it is sounded again to signal the end.

Residents voluntarily stop using mobile phones and television sets from 7 pm to 9 pm every day, except in emergencies, since the launch of the initiative on December 17.

The initiative aims to prioritise academics, which, gram panchayat authorities say, is increasingly getting affected by excessive screen time.

Gram panchayat authorities are reaching out to those residents who are yet to comply and are urging them to stay away from screen during the two hours.

According to reports, gram panchayat members and teachers have also decided to visit individual houses to urge all parents to adhere to the no-screen timeline.

The Halaga village exercise is said to be inspired by a similar experiment in Agran Dhulgaon near Sangli in Maharashtra which had a positive response on students' learning habits.