Kavathar is a village located in

Mangalore Taluk Mangaluru taluk is a ''taluk'' (subdistrict) in the Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka on the western coast of India. Mangaluru is the administrative headquarters of the ''taluk''. It is made up of Mangaluru City Corporation, Ullal City Munici ...

in the northernmost part of

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is located in the states and territories of India, state of Karnataka in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangaluru. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east and the ...

, close to the small town of Balkunje. Its postal code is 574154. Batta Benny muji kere is a pond located at kavathar that attracts migrated birds.

History

Butta Benny is an area of Bhuts populated by the

Goud Saraswat Brahmin Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd), also known as Shenvis are a Hindu community of contested caste status and identity. They primarily speak Konkani and its various dialects as their mother tongue. They claim to be Saraswat Brah ...

community, who migrated from southern areas such as Kateel. They included Kamaths, Nayaks, Pai and other groups who were converted to

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

ism by

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

missionaries and were offered lands in remote areas such as Butta Benny. This area now has Christians with surnames such as D'Souza and Aroza. The place is known by the name Girijana Colony, since the northern half has been distributed among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by the government.

Religion

The D'Souza family of Kavathar made significant contributions towards St.Paul's Church, Balkunje. A temple named Siri Abbagha Dharagha Mahalingeshwar Temple was built under the Ajila family. It is known for its annual Siri Jatra during the Pagu Purnima.

Description

People residing in the northern half visit markets of Palimar and

Padubidri Padubidri /Padubidre (in Kannada) or Paddedra (in Tulu) is a small town in coastal district of Udupi in Karnataka state, India. Padubidri is on the way from Udupi to Mangalore route. National Highway 66 (earlier known as NH 17) passes through P ...

Udupi Udupi () also known as 'Odipu' () is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Udupi district, and one of the fastest-growing cities in Karnataka. Udupi is one of the top tourist attractions in Karnataka an ...

District, while those who live in the southern half visit

Kinnigoli Kinnigoli is a major suburb in the Rural–urban fringe, outskirts of Mangaluru International Airport Tehsil (Mangaluru International Airport Township). It is located approximately 32 km from Mangaluru, 5 km from Kateel (a famous Hind ...

and Mulki. Nearby villages include Kirem, Damarskatte,

Pompei Pompei (; ), also known in English as Pompeii ( ) after the name of the ancient city, is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It contains the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. History Modern Po ...

(India-a village) Aikala, Panjinadka and Karnad. It has no shops, and hardly a few houses The place is partially famous for its Kavatharu Temple, where

Bhuta Kola Būta Kōlā,/buːt̪ʌ/ is the local pronunciation while the standardised Sanskrit+Tulu pronunciation is /bʱuːt̪ʌ koːlɑː/ also referred to as Daiva Kōlā or Daiva Nēmā, is a shamanistic Hindu dance performance practised, believed a ...

is held annually.

Demographics

In 2011 there were 357 households in Kavathar village, according to the census data. The total population was 2089, of which 724 were males and 805 were females. There were 144 children between the age of 0 and 6, 68 male and 76 female.

Education

The primary school in Kavathur celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2012.

Economy

Kavathar has no concrete roads. Farming was abandoned, as newer generations left the area and migrated to

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

or immigrated. Transport facilities are almost absent. The village has no bus service, because without a bridge between Balkunje and Kavathar, service was not economically feasible. The bridge was opposed by temple authorities who claimed that it would disturb the pilgrimage. The bridge was later constructed.

Nature

It has forest area with diverse species of birds and mammals.

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

s are found in abundance, while

tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

, who once inhabited its forests have vanished. It has a wide range of snakes, and a number of

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

and

cashew Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as t ...

trees.

References

{{coord, 8, 56, 48.74, N, 77, 46, 16.96, E, type:city_region:IN, display=title Villages in Dakshina Kannada district