Kandavara, Karnataka, India

Kandavara is a self-contained discrete settlement/village but is Ward 14 of the Town of Chikballapur [http://wikitravel.org/en/Chikballapur] , in the state of Karnataka, India. It is in the newly created District of Chikballapur, in the taluk (township) of Chikballapur.

Kandavara is 55 km north of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore), the silicon plateau of India. Downtown Chikballapur is 2 km north of Kandavara, separated by a reservoir locally known as Kandavara Amanikere, and paddy fields downstream from the reservoir. The north-south State Highway SH-74 runs at the foot of the reservoir on the east side of the reservoir. State Highway SH-74 abuts Kandavara on the west side, and links Kandavara to Chikballapur in the north and the village of Nandi in the south. The north-south National Highway NH-7 is about 1 km east of Kandavara connected by an east-west rural partially paved road.

According to the 2001 Census, the population of Kandavara was approximately 4,000. Some estimates in January 2007 put the figure at 4.400.

Transport links

Regular and reliable buses operate between Bangalore, the silicon plateau of India, and Chikballapur. There are numerous buses run by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private companies. The town of Chikballapur is located on National Highway NH-7. Kandavara is about 1 km west of NH-7 and there is a partially paved rural road that links Kandavara to NH-7. The buses take around 1 hour 45 minutes to travel from the rail station in Bangalore to Chikballapur

You can get off on NH-7 at a bus stop called Kandavara Gate and walk to Kandavara. Also, you can get off at the Chikballapur Bus Terminal and either walk to Kandavara or take an auto-rickshaw.

At scheduled times, there are passenger trains that run between Bangalore and Chikballapur.

Tourist Attractions

Kandavara is the home of the Heritage Primary School where Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya did his primary schooling. The classes he attended were in the U-shaped school building built in 1845. The same school produced the Chief Secretary of the State of Karnataka, Mr. Narayana Swamy Katari, who retired as the Chief Secretary in 1967.

The Heritage Primary School was refurbished in 2006 by the Dwaraknath Reddy Ramanarpanam Trust (DRRT) under the leadership of Ms Anita Reddy. The restored building is fully functional. One classroom has been made into a modest interpretive centre. It is a puzzle why people have to take off their shoes before entering the interpretive centre.

ettlement Profile

In the shadow of Boomgalore, 55 km north of Bangalore (or Bengaluru), the silicon plateau of India, lies impoverished Kandavara. The village of Kandavara is now a distinct neighbourhood of the town of Chikballapur and is 2 km south of its downtown. Legally Kandavara is Ward 14 of the City Municipal Council Chikballapur.

Approximately 1,800 people of Kandavara, i.e., nearly 48% of the population of Kandavara consist of dalits (ex-Untouchables). The built up area of Kandavara is 2.37 km² and is surrounded by agricultural land. It has 8 temples and 1 mosque.

Kandavara has a Heritage Primary School with classes from 1st through the 7th standard located in two buildings. The first one, a U-shaped one, was built in 1845 and the second one, a block structure, was built in 1895. The 1895 building is in a very poor condition and requires extensive rehabilitation although it is being used for classroom purposes.

Kandavara has a hospital building with a full-time nurse. Although the hospital is designated a Primary Health Centre it has neither a family physician nor a paramedic.

Kandavara has no sanitary sewer system. It has no solid waste disposal system. Sanitary sewers and storm sewers consist of open stone lined gutters. Water is secured through two functioning deep wells that pump water to a fair sized water tank but not all households have piped water supply. The water from the two wells is salty and not suited for cooking and drinking but is adequate for all other purposes.