Punacha

Punacha
village
Punacha Location in Karnataka, India Show map of Karnataka Punacha Punacha (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 12°54′N75°02′E / 12.9°N 75.03°E / 12.9; 75.03
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Dakshina Kannada
Talukas	Bantwal
Government
• Body	Panchayath
Population  (2001)
• Total	7,878
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	574243
Telephone code	08255
ISO 3166 code	IN-KA
Vehicle registration	KA 19
Nearest city	Puttur
Lok Sabha constituency	Mangalore
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Puttur
Civic agency	Panchayath

Punacha is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India. ^{[1] [2]} It is located in the Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka.

Background

The name Punacha is derived from the Tulu language word puncha, which is a natural mud habitat (an anthill) where snakes usually live.

Punacha is famous for the Shri Mahishaamardhini temple which is at the heart of the village. Legend has it that, long ago, a tribeswoman accidentally discovered a black Mahishaamardhini (an avatar of Durga) sculpture while she was working in a nearby hill called Devaragudde, 'The Hill of God'. One of the eyes of the sculpture got damaged by her knife without her knowledge. Later, the sculpture was taken to the current site and a temple was built, dedicated to the Goddess.

Before independence, Punacha (which is part of Dakshina Kannada or Canara district) was ruled by the Madras Presidency. After independence this place was included in Mysore state which was later renamed as Karnataka .

Demographics

As of 2011 ^[update] India census, Punacha village had a population of 7,978 with 4,009 males and 3,969 females. ^[1] The major languages spoken in the village are Kannada and Tulu along with other languages like Havyaka, Konkani, Marathi and Beary.

Education

In the village, the majority of the population is literate with primary and secondary grade education. The village’s literacy rate is far above national average. Significant number of people from this village work in Indian metropolis like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi whereas a sizeable proportion of population work in the Middle East. This place has provided number of engineers, doctors, writers, folk artists, Yakshagaana artists, Politicians, Army jawans, businessmen, teachers, professors, accountants and agriculturists to the country.

Educational facilities till class X is available in Punacha-Pariyalthadka Aided Higher Primary School, Pariyalthadka and Sri Devi High School, Devinagara, with the medium of instruction being Kannada. For higher education, people either commute to neighbouring towns like Puttur, Vittal or Mangalore.

Lists of educational institution in Punacha:

• Punacha Pariyalthadka Aided Higher Primary School, Pariyalthadka.
• Sri Devi High School, Devinagara.
• Ajinadka, Ajeru, Dambe, Toranakatte Govt Schools.
• Hayathul Islam Madrasa Pariyalthadka.
• Sarakari Hiriya Prathamika Shale Moodambailu (Govt School).

Agriculture

The main crops of Punacha village are paddy, coconut, areca nut, jasmine, black pepper, rubber and cocoa. Paddy is generally cultivated during three seasons in a year, Karthika or Yenel (May–October), Suggi (October to January) and Kolake (January to April). There are some farmers who do dairy farming, poultry etc. for their livelihood.

Religion

Inhabitants of Punacha follow either of the three religions like Hinduism, Islam or Christianity. Among Hindus, majority of the people belong to ethnicities like Billava, Brahmin, Bunt, Marathi Naik ^[3] and Saraswat.

List of religious places in Punacha:

• Jumma Masjid Punacha
• Shree Mahishaamardhini Temple Punacha
• Shree Mahishamardini Bhajana Mandira, Ajeru
• Jumma Masjid & Darga Pariyalthadka
• Christ the King Catholic Church,Kurelu, Manila, Punacha.
• Koti Channaya Garadi – Garodi
• Shree Dhoomavathi Kshetra Bailu Guthu
• Shree Dhoomavathi Kshetra, Sankesha
• Shree Kallurti Daiva, Padavu
• Shree Malaraaya Kshetra, Dalkaje
• Jai bharathi marathi mandira devinagara

Connectivity

Air

The nearest airport to Punacha is Mangalore International Airport which is at a distance of 58 km. ^[4] Flights are available to major Indian cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Middle East countries like Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dubai–International, Kuwait, Muscat.

Railway

There is no railway line passing through Punacha. The closest railway station to the village is Kabaka Puttur Railway Station (Station Code: KBPR) ^[5] which is around 15 km ^[6] via the fastest road. It is a single track diesel line on the Mangalore-Hassan railway line of South Western Railway.

Road

Punacha is connected to nearest towns like Puttur ^[7] and Vittal ^{[8] [9]} by private and ksrtc shuttle buses with a frequency of around half an hour. Daily buses are available from 7 am to 8 pm from both the towns.

Notable persons from Punacha

• M.S.Mohammad Manila Former Vice President Jilla Panchayath Dakshina Kannada.
• Agrala Purandara Rai, Writer of Kannada Literature and Journalist ( 1916-2001)
• Prof. B.A. Viveka Rai, ^[10] former Vice Chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi and Karnataka State Open University, Mysore and Retired Professor and Head, Kannada Department of Mangalore University, A senior writer, scholar of Kannada Literature and Folklore. ^[11] He is the son of Agrala Purandara Rai, writer and journalist.
• B.A.Ullas Rai, Retired General Manager of Vijaya Bank, son of Agrala Purandara Rai.
• Moodambailu Gopalakrishna Shastry, Yakshagana Tala Maddale artist. ^[12]
• Late Nayan Kumar, comedy artist in Yakahagaana
• Pulincha Ramayya Shetty, artist in Yakshagaana( 1939-2002)
• S R Rangamoorthy, former Campco President. ^[13]
• S R Satishchandra, Campco President [14]
• Sachidanada Prabhu, ajeru yakshagana artist
• Pratham Ajeru, yakshagana artist
• Kavyashree Nayak Ajeru, Yakshagana Artist ^[15]

Health facilities:

Government Primary Health Centre at Ajjinadka

Dr Sumana Moorthi Shastry Clinic Ajjinadka

Dr K M Bhat SWASTIK CLINIC Punacha Pariyalthadka

Dr Pradeep P K Thanvi Clinic Punacha Garadi

See also

• Dakshina Kannada
• Districts of Karnataka

References

1. "Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".
2. "Yahoomaps India :" . Retrieved 18 December 2008. Punacha, Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka
3. "Home". Marati Naik. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
4. "Punacha to Mangaluru International Airport". Punacha to Mangaluru International Airport. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
5. "Kabaka Puttur Railway Station Code|Kabaka Puttur Railway Station Time Table". etrainroute.in. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
6. "Punacha to Kabaka Puttur Railway Station". Punacha to Kabaka Puttur Railway Station. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
7. "KSRTC Bus Stand Puttur to Punacha". KSRTC Bus Stand Puttur to Punacha. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
8. "Vittla KSRTC Bus Station to Punacha". Vittla KSRTC Bus Station to Punacha. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
9. "Vittal Bus Station to Punacha". Vittal Bus Station to Punacha. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
10. "B A Viveka Rai". B A Viveka Rai. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
11. "Mangalore University to confer Honoris Causa on Prof. B A Viveka Rai". Coastaldigest.com - The Trusted News Portal of India, Coastal Karnataka. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
12. Kamila, Raviprasad (29 December 2014). "Yakshagana literary conference in Puttur from Friday". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 7 December 2018.
13. "Former President". The Campco LTD. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
14. "S R Satishchandra is new Campco president | Udayavani - ಉದಯವಾಣಿ". www.udayavani.com. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
15. "Making their way to centre stage". Deccan Herald. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2020.

External links

• http://dk.nic.in/