Bengaluru: As the city prepares to run the midnight marathon on December 5, a thousand smiles will spread in the state. For, a share from every run in the marathon will go towards development of seven villages in Karnataka.
The villages, handpicked by the organisers of the marathon Rotary Bengaluru IT Corridor (RBITC), will see some transitional changes. Citing an example of B. Thimmsandra in Chikkaballapur, Sridhar Ratnam, director of Community Services, RBITC, reveals how the village has benefited from their project.
“During our assessment of the village, irrespective of the gender, all the villagers wanted individual toilets in their houses. Out of the 120 houses in the village, we found that only 10 houses hadtoilets. The women found it very difficult to defecate in the open after 6 am. Soon, with a partial contribution of the villagers, we constructed and handed over toilets to all the households,” says Mr Ratnam.
Every year, at least 20,000 people benefit from the funds generated through the marathon via various community-based projects, adds Mr Ratnam.
Interestingly, it’s not just basic infrastructure that the villagers have gained. Following their request to help them improve farming methods as bad weather conditions affect crops, the RBITC introduced drip irrigation in the village and the results have overwhelmed the farmer families. “Earlier, the farmers made Rs 1.5 lakh annually and now, they earn the same money in three months. It’s inspiring to see such changes,” adds Mr Ratnam.
The marathon money is diverted to various such works and some of the villagers have undergone major medical surgeries from the same. After constructing toilets as a first step towards integrated development of villages, the RBITC is working on laying sanitary pipelines in the villages and a survey is underway.
“We are also working towards reviving a dried up lake in these villages and aim to provide potable drinking water. A water filter plant will also be installed in the future. While seven villages are benefiting from the marathon as of now, we plan to expand our projects to the entire state eventually,” he adds.
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