After gang-rapes and murder, a look at the no-man’s land at Anegondi, near Hampi

On March 6, a fun outing to ‘stargaze’ at night beside the picturesque Tungabhadra canal at Sanapur village, 26 kms from Hampi, turned into a chilling nightmare for five young people, which included an Israeli and an American tourist. The gang-rape of two women and murder of an Odisha tourist in the group, have put the spotlight on the villages living under the shadow of the towering historic Hampi ruins nearby.

Each year, during November to March, domestic and foreign tourists cross over to the left bank of the Tungabhadra river in hordes to spend time in the pretty riverside villages like Anegondi, Sanapur, Hanumanahalli, Chikkarampura and a few others, which belong to Gangavathi taluk in Koppal district.

They rather stay in these calm, rustic environs free of restrictions rather than at the world heritage site Hampi in Hospet taluk in Vijaynagar district. In fact, Hospet residents are very conscious of this divide. “We are not involved in what happens on the other side of the river and Hampi’s name should not be dragged into this shameful incident,” said tourist guides at Hampi.

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Across the river, the villagers at Koppal district too are upset. They claim that such extreme incidents are rare and their villages which ‘host the world’ are ‘safe havens’. Some old villagers dismiss it as a ‘one-off incident’ and blame it on foreigners for moving around ‘half-naked’ and ‘inciting young men’. The rape and murder was allegedly committed by three locals in the area, who have been arrested.

Anegondi, which is famous for an ancient Hanuman temple, said to be the birthplace of Hanuman, and Sanapur on the surface seem like serene little villages, dotted with green paddy fields, waterfalls, rocky hillocks and rivers which weave their way through the boulder-strewn landscape. But, according to some locals, who prefer to be anonymous, these villages are a hub for “illegal” activities.

“Hard drugs are easily available, and with not even a police outpost in the area, these villages are actually unsafe for tourists. Alcohol flows freely and there are many crimes which happen but most of them go unreported,” said the young local.

The Tungabhadra canal. Photo: Keerthik CS

None of the tourist spots have lighting, or CCTVs, he pointed out. And, most flag the emergence of resorts and homestays without proper no-objection certificates (NOC) or permissions as the reason for the chaos and increasing crime.

However, resort owners complained that the rules laid down by the Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA), a body set up in 2002 to prevent uncontrolled development and commercial exploitation of the world-famous heritage spot and its surrounding area, are too stringent.

According to the 2021 Master Plan, the entire area is divided into core and peripheral zones. If any of the villages fall within the ‘core’, which covers an area of 304,364 hectares, it is mandatory to obtain an NOC from HWHAMA, Archaeology Survey of India (ASI), state archaeology departments, gram panchayat, for any kind of constructions. If they have not obtained permissions, these constructions are viewed as illegal.

Raman Anjaneya, head of the association for resort owners in Koppal district claimed there’s no “clarity” on approvals and there were too many government bodies involved in the process. “We also need permissions from district police, district administration, revenue and tourism department. If we are illegal then why are they accepting our GST fees?” asked Anjaneya, who runs a homestay by out of his home in Sanapur.

An official at the Koppal tourist department told The Federal that resort owners have to fulfil some basic criteria.

“For example, their property needs to be on 6,000 sq ft land and with at least 20 rooms, while homestay owners have to log on online and upload their approvals from local gram panchayat, the local SP, DC and pay just ₹500. All we are asking them is to legalise their resorts and homestays,” he said. Ironically, the tourism department has just one homestay registered with them so far.

A HWHAMA official, meanwhile said they have given NOCs to four to five resorts in Sanapur so far. However, the HWHAMA official revealed that more clarity is expected shortly as the government is busy revising the 2021 Master Plan for Hampi-Anegondi.

“It will then become very clear which areas are earmarked for commercial activity,” he told The Federal.

To further complicate the issue, the central government-run ASI also plays a role in the region. The ASI is not just responsible for the preservation of monuments, it is also involved in protecting the natural environment and ensuring it is not used for commercial purposes.

ASI officials have complained against the mushrooming of illegal resorts in the area. “But our protests have fallen on deaf ears,” said an ASI official in Hospet, who felt this rape and murder incident involving a homestay owner will probably shake up the state government.

A high-ranking government official in Koppal district admitted to “gaps” in regulating the resorts and homestays and said they were working to address them. After the incident created an uproar, the Koppal police raided homestays and resorts reviewed guest registers, verified CCTVs and checked overall security protocols. But these are just knee-jerk responses and the real problems are not being addressed, complained Sanapur locals.

According to Dr Sharanabasappa Kolkar, historian, and principal of KSC Women’s college in Gangavathi, the resorts which have sprung up on hills, fields and deserted areas do not have any security for foreign and domestic tourists.

“Many tourists have been robbed but these cases have not come to light. But the recent Sanapur Lake case, where an Israeli woman and a 29-year-old homestay owner were raped, has made a big noise,” he admitted. The demand now is that the resorts in the area are legalised and adequate protection provided to tourists, on whom locals depend for their livelihood.

Kolkar, however, felt the situation is also messy because of the rivalry between resort owners in Hampi and the ones in Anegondi.

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“The resorts in Anegondi area are more popular with foreigners, which has made resort owners in Hospet area resentful. So, Anegondi resort owners feel false accusations are being made against them to get them closed down. But the fact is that the district administration, tourism department and local revenue department have given them permissions,” he pointed out.

Also, Kolkar felt HWHAMA’s rules are so strict that Anegondi residents are not even allowed to build toilets at their homes. “The development authority is creating problems for the common man under the guise of protecting the monuments,” said Kolkar.

“There should be a single-window scheme to give clearances for resorts here or else how will tourism develop? While many modern buildings and resorts have come up without a murmur in Hampi, why are the rules only applied to Anegondi?” asked Kolkar. The local people are very upset about this discrimination and have protested many times to exclude them from the scope of HWHAMA.

“But, the government is indifferent to local peoples’ problem and refuses to relax its rules,” he explained.

The locals also depend largely on tourism though agriculture is the main occupation in the area. Since paddy is grown in large quantities, this area is often referred to as the paddy granary of Karnataka. Sugarcane and bananas are also grown here.

“Recently, large-scale mining has happening here because of the manganese hills around Bellary, Sandur and Hospet taluk,” said Kolkar. Many industries have come up to support the mining and 50 big and small factories like Jindal, Kalyani, Mukunda, Kirloskar, Baldota etc., have set up base here transforming the environment and economic conditions of the region.

In his view, north Indians have mostly grabbed the jobs in the factories and locals have hardly benefited from these industries. And locals end up depending on foreign tourists for their livelihood. But the recent rape-murder which made global news has left them worried about their future.