Amruthur Town

Amruthur is a progressive small town in Tumkur district, Karnataka, India. It is situated in a valley created by the rivers Shimsha, Veera-vaishnavi and Nagini. It is considered to be a land of plenty, as it is irrigated by the Markonhalli and Mangala reservoirs, in addition to a series of tanks. Amruthur is surrounded by paddy fields and areca gardens. To the south of the village are two lakes that are also a source of irrigation.

Amruthur is about 300 feet below Bangalore, and the climate is similar to that of Bangalore. Being very near to National Highway NH-48 (Bangalore - Mangalore highway), it is well connected. In addition, it is reachable by the Bangalore - Hassan Railway (via Kunigal and Yediyur) with Yediyur being the nearest railway station.

There are many ancient temples in Amruthur, like the Sri Rameshwara temple, Sri Channakeshava temple, Sri Anjaneya temple, Sri Srinivasa temple and the temple of the village deity, Pattaladamma. Amruthur has a long and colourful history of steady progress.

Freedom Struggle

Amruthur was in the forefront of India's freedom struggle from the British empire. Even before Mysore State Congress was formed, delegates from Amruthur attended the 1924 Belgaum Session of the Indian National Congress where Mahatma Gandhi was also present. It was a beehive of activity during the freedom movement and many people from Amruthur had participated in the 1942 Quit India movement and had courted arrest.

Cooperative and Banking Movement

Way back in 1911, Sri Rama Mandiram Cooperative Society was started. This provided banking and credit facilities to the people of Amruthur. It was, and continues to be managed by an elected body. In the 1960s, the Ryots Cooperative Society and the Housing Cooperative Society were formed to cater to the farmer community of the area. Also, in the 1960s, Canara Bank opened a branch in Amruthur. In the 1970s, as a part of the White Revolution, the Milk Producers Cooperative Society was started. This came as a boon to the local farmers who took up dairying as a profession.

Healthcare Facilities

Amruthur had the distinction of having its own hospital as early as the 1930s with all the necessary buildings and infrastructure. The hospital was further upgraded in accordance with the plan of the Government of India in the 1960s and more staff was posted for the care of the people of Amruthur. Private wards were added by the donations of philanthropists of Amruthur. As of today, all the modern facilities are available in the hospital. Also, in the 1960s, a veterinary hospital was established with all necessary infrastructure.

Electricity and Drinking Water Supply

With the efforts of the local leaders, Amruthur enjoyed the benefits of protected water supply and electricity as early as the 1950s. A Section Office for the Karnataka Electricity Board with the necessary office building and staff quarters was added in the 1960s. These utilities have been improved by adding 3 overhead tanks and a number of borewells to the existing system. With the aid of the World Bank, these have been further improved.

Education Facilities

Amruthur had the distinction of having educational facilities even since the 1920s. There were separate schools for girls and boys upto Lower Secondary levels (this translates to 7th standard or 7th grade). A private high school (Nehru High School) was started by the local leaders in the 1950s. The Government Junior College was started in the 1970s offering PUC (Pre-University College) courses in science, arts and commerce. Amruthur Education Institution from kindergarten upto 10th standard were started in 1982 under the Amruthur Education Trust.

Other facilities

Postal facilities started in Amruthur village around 1930s, with the establishment of a branch office. This was converted to a sub-office in 1960s with telegraphy facility. Also, in the 1960s, Amruthur got telephone services with a Public Call Office (PCO) which was then expanded to a manual telephone exchange, and then grew into an automatic telephone exchange. Both postal and telephone facilities now have their own buildings. Amruthur now has STD (national calling) and ISD (international calling) services, and cellphone service is available from different vendors. A couple of petrol bunks (gas stations) have also been added to the village.

All the above facilities could be made available because of the forethought and efforts of community leaders like A. R. Venkatachari and A. S. Ramamurthi.