Enmakaje(Kasargode): Their lives are caught between Kerala and Karnataka. Their properties and sources of livelihood also lie in both the states. Neither the police nor revenue officials of either state listen to their woes as they belong to “nowhere”. Welcome to Chavarkad, a small sleepy village in Enmakaje grama panchayat of Kasargode along the Karnataka border. Though officially they are in Kerala, residents of Chavarkad are hooked to Karnataka for their day-to-day needs.
Forty-year-old Haneefa who lives in a rented house with his wife and two kids, move back and forth between the two states several times a day as their house is in Karnataka and the toilet in Kerala. The house comes under Kepu panchayat of Karnataka (no 29/1) but the 30 cents are spread across both the states.
The petty shop of Shashidara Prabhu registered in Enmakaje panchayat (ward 2, door 179) is so close to Haneefa’s home that there’s literally no ‘separation’ between both states. The Special Village Officer at Enmakaje panchayt, Abdul Hameed points out that there are many such curious cases in Chavarkad, Saya, Shantapadavu, Bakilapadavu, Kootelu and Kombrabettu. “In Adyanadka town, there’s a hotel in Karnataka but the steps leading to it are in Kerala. A poultry farm also lies across the two states,” he said.
These places in Kerala can be reached from Kasargod only by moving through Karnataka along the Sharadka police aid post. Sharafuddin, a Gulf returnee complains that the Karnataka police personnel at the aid post bleed them dry when parcels from abroad are brought through. “Whatever crime takes place here, the Vittla police (Karnataka) and Badiyadka police start the blame game over jurisdiction,” said Sadashiva Shenoy, a native.
When going from Perla towards Vittla, the left of the highway at Adyanadka town is in Kerala, while the right portion is in Karnataka. When Kerala banned pan masala in 2012, pan chewers had to just cross the road to the right side to buy their usual stuff.
Panchayat member Aithappa Kulal said the ward missed the water distribution scheme of NABARD just because Karnataka refused to lay pipes through its land. Before the switch-over of passports to the online system, many people in these areas had more than one passport, said local folks.
