HAVERI: Jondalagatti village in Haveri district has gained a fair bit of notoreity in local circles – thanks to its association with a rather unusual moniker as the ‘Village of Bachelors’. Much to the chagrin of the eligible men out here, prospective brides are simply reluctant to tie the nuptial knot with them.
The reason?
No, you’ll be mistaken to draw any premature conclusions about the men here because what have put paid to their dreams of having ideal life partners are not any shortcomings on their part, but due to the lack of infrastructure, healthcare, and communication facilities at their village.
Women continue to spurn proposals from Jondalagatti
Of the 200-odd inhabitants, there are more than 20 eligible men who have struggled to find a suitable match for themselves for years.
As a sequel, even the village primary school is staring at an uncertain future with no fresh enrolments for the new academic year, given that there are hardly any children in this village.
Sources revealed that the village predominantly houses the Maratha community, with 34 out of its 41 families belonging to this group. The remainder are from the OBC communities.
As women continue to spurn match-making proposals emanating from Jondalagatti, several young men recently voiced their concerns with MLA Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan during a Jana Spandana meeting.
“Some youths have managed to have love marriages with women from other castes as they failed to secure suitable alliances from their caste, even after many years of waiting. Women and their parents directly avoid youths attached to Jondalagatti,” said Parashu Patil, a resident.
Patil mentioned that until recently, villagers needed to travel 7 km through forested areas to reach the Mundagod-Hubballi main road. An NWKRTC bus service started 20 days ago now operates only in the mornings and evenings.
“Many unmarried men feel frustrated about their marriage prospects, with some recently marrying widows. Lack of a dependable mobile network, inadequate transportation and healthcare facilities, and frequent wild animal attacks have prompted women to avoid matrimonial proposals from this village,” Patil added.
“I have been searching for a bride for the last four years. Kundli and all the other parameters matched, but the brides-to-be and their parents eventually backed off after considering the situation in our village.,” lamented another youth.
“I faced extreme difficulty in finding brides for my two sons. Their marriages were finally fixed on the condition that they would not live in the village after their marriage. For 10 years, my sons and their families have rarely visited us. Even our relatives avoid visiting us,” said another villager, Mallappa Jondalagatti.
“We have not had any new enrolments for the next academic year at the village school because there are no children in this village. We only have five students up to class 5, and the Anganwadi remains empty,” said Ashok Arkasali, the headmaster at the Govt Lower Primary School in Jondalagatti.
