In the first part of our new series, Hit The Highway with Sandhya Ravishankar, we travel to the Assembly constituency of Ballari City.
In the heart of the dusty mining district, Scheduled Caste Madiga residents of Babuji Nagar slum suffer from various diseases and ailments as drains overflow and filth enters their homes.
The upcoming election in Karnataka is open season for all political parties – there is no set “wave” or trend and no large issue that people will vote on.
The election is actually not a single one – it is 224 elections being fought all at once, with voters’ focus narrowing in on local and micro issues.
One recurring thread that we see, however, is that the Scheduled Caste population in the state, especially the SC Left, as it is called, is unaware of the various benefits that are due to them and they are unaware as to whom to approach and apply in order to use those benefits and schemes.
Here’s the first video on the appalling conditions that the Madigas live in in Ballari city.