Budikote

Budikote
village
Budikote Location in Karnataka, India
Coordinates: 12°54′N 78°08′E / 12.900°N 78.133°E / 12.900; 78.133Coordinates: 12°54′N 78°08′E / 12.900°N 78.133°E / 12.900; 78.133
Country	India
State	Karnataka
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Budikote or the "Fort of Ash" is a small village situated in Bangarpet Taluk of Kolar District in Karnataka state of India. It is about 15 miles from Kolar Gold Fields the nearest city. It has an old fort, hence the name. It is also the birthplace of Hyder Ali, father of Tipu Sultan. This village has a population of roughly 3000 people in 600 families. The main occupation in this village is agriculture, though farmers mostly suffer from irregular monsoons. Sericulture and Pisciculture are practiced to some extent. Budikote also is well known for housing Namma Dhwani, India's first cable community radio station, operating from 2002. As of today, Namma Dhwani or Our Voices, is a fully functional Community Multimedia Centre, with radio, video, and satellite facilities. It is also completely self-sufficient through locally generated revenue. Budikote has about 15 Self Help Groups, two banks, one Primary Health Care Centre and two government schools. It is about 100 kilometers from the city of Bangalore and is well connected by road and train.