Bengaluru: Bandagadde is a small village about 10 kilometres from the Sagar Taluk headquarters of Shivamogga district in the Malnad region of Karnataka. In the early Ninety decade of the previous century, the village lacked proper infrastructure and hardly had any public modes of communication. Umesh B R, proprietor of Mathana Home Industries (Agriculture and Domestic Machinery) hails from this village. For various reasons, he couldn't pursue a career in education and as he admits, maybe he was not keen on formal education. However, such a background was no hindrance for Umesh B R to develop into an entrepreneur and make a big name for himself. Despite having no formal educational background to boast of, a peculiar thought haunted him: to be self-reliant. Helping the villages with daily requirements: The nearby 5-6 villages around Bandagadde were also equally backwards regarding civic amenities. People living in them had daily requirements with things like tea powder, coffee powde
Bengaluru: The national highway NH766 connecting Kollegal in Karnataka to Kozhikode in Kerala is approximately 272 kilometres in total length. It traverses the renowned Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. It was designated as a national highway in 1989 and is a spur road of the national highway 66. The highway passes through the dense forests of the Western Ghats for 19.7 kilometres and the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Joseph Hoover anguished over the development: Joseph Hoover, a journalist turned wildlife conservationist is also a former member of the Karnataka Wildlife Board. He is concerned over the new development and says: "There is a raging debate about NH766 being opened for night traffic, allowing vehicles to traverse the core area of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The Honourable Supreme Court of India has banned traffic between 9 pm to 6am, as Bandipur is an inviolate area and critical habitat for the tiger ... ...Wild animals fall prey to speeding vehicles: We would wa