Tibetan Settlement, Dhondenling, Kollegal, K.S.
A brief story of Kollegal Dhondenling:
Dhondenling Tibetan Settlement (Kollegal, Karnataka State) amidst green fields.
Introduction:
Dhondenling Tibetan settlement, Kollegal, Karnataka settlement was established in 1974 with the help of the Government of India and Karnataka State. Mysore Resettlement and Development Agency (MYRADA) extended their technical help in construction of living quarters, settlement offices, hospital , school buildings road etc. The settlement has total area of 3000 acres.
Settlement Location
Dhondenling Tibetan settlement is located at Odeyarpalaya, Kollegal Taluk in Karanataka State, Chamrajnagar district near Karnataka - Tamil Nadu border. The settlement is at a height of 3345 ft. above sea level. And experience a moderate climatic condition. The average temperature of the place is about 20° Celsius and average annual rainfall of 140-170 cm per year.
Settlement Population
| Initial population | 3160 |
| Present Population | 4171 |
No of Villages in the settlement
This settlement consists of 22 villages or refugee camps with average of 25-35 families in each camps.
Settler's Livelihood
Agriculture is the main stay of the settlement people. They cultivate maize, rice, ragi etc. Apart from the agriculture, some of the settlers also do sweater selling during winter season to earn extra income to their family.
Facilities in the settlement
| School | Three Kindergarten school One main primary school upto 10th standard |
| Health facilities | One modern allopathic hospital One Tibetan Medical and Astro institute |
| Monastery | The settlement has five monasteries 1. Dzongchen monasteries 2. Taksham monasteries 3. Tanak monasteries 4. Dhragyal monasteries 5. Bayoe monasteries |
| Co-operative Society< | The settlement has one co-operative Society with few public service section, namely fair price shop, tractor repair and rental section, handicraft Center. |
Administrative setup
Representative
Each settlement has a settlement officer
who is the Representative of the Department of Home appointed by Central
Tibetan Administration (CTA), Dharamsala. Settlement officer is the
principle post of the settlement. He is charged with overall control of
running of affairs in the settlement. Under the Representative there are
chief executive officer Co-operative society, appointed by CTA, Manager of
the workshop and other small handicraft and also village leaders.
Representative acts as the liaison between the settlement and the Department of Home (CTA) and is the main source of information for the people in the settlement. The roles of Chief Diplomat, Chief Justice and Head of the settlement are all combined in one post. Daily task for the representative range from adjudicating disputes to communicating with group leaders and outside authorities, and generally watching over the running of all aspects of the settlement.
Group Leaders
The functioning or activities of every settlement are
more or less similarly to each other. There are 22 villages in this
settlement and each of these 22 villages possess an elected group leaders
whose job is to act as an intermediary with relevant authorities, pass on
information, settle disputes and collect money. Group leaders are not
elected for their policy-making idea, nor do they campaign on certain
issue. These group leaders are chosen on the basis of their strength of
personality and once ability to stand before the interest of their
village. The duty of the leader is more or less like the representative,
but on smaller and more personal scale.
Travelling Guide
| Nearest Railway station | Mysore | 110 Km from settlement |
| Nearest Air port | Bangalore | 180 Km from settlement |
| Bus and taxi services | Yes |