Evicted from the "Hippy island" of Virupapura Gadde, a forestland surrounded on all sides by the Tungabhadra, on Tuesday, a large number have begun erecting tents near the Virupaksha temple, the principle deity of Vijayanagar kings and on the riverside.
The arrival of the 100 hippies and more in groups to Hampi is alarming locals who fear they will create law and order problems in their peaceful town. A hippy community, habituated to drugs and alcohol, is already occupying several historic mantaps on the site, they lament.
Hampi is no stranger to these lotus eaters. It found a place on the hippie map even in the 1960s and 70s when westerners looking east for a simpler way of life came visiting and changing their names, settled down near it.
"But modern day hippies are wannabe idiots dressed in silly clothes who just want to get wasted and hide away from responsibility", says a local vendor, adding that they contribute almost nothing financially to the local community and instead leave their empty bottles and rubbish all over the beautiful heritage town.
"This is not a tourist place like Goa. It is a heritage site and demands a certain code of conduct. The hippies visiting the place force our children to supply them ganja and other drugs. The kids too start consuming these drugs and get addicted to them. This is damaging our society as a whole," protests a local school teacher.
The local police reportedly finds itself helpless in curbing the activities of the hippies owing to political interference.
"The hippies escape legal action as political bigwigs from Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai interfere on their behalf. If an impartial inquiry is conducted, you will get startling information on our netas and rich dons,” add locals.
Political interference is so strong that a couple of youth from Delhi, Royal Robert and Reno allegedly assaulted Gangavati police, including PSI Prakash Male when he led a raid on a few hippi dens on the Left Bank to flush out drugs and the like. But a senior police officer is said to have prevented his subordinates from filing a case and let their attackers go free allegedly under political pressure.
Recounting more instances of nuiscance caused by the hippies, locals recount that some of them who arrived at the Hosapete bus stand began to beg for money from other passengers saying they were from Europe and were collecting funds to travel around India for “Universal Peace.” Tens of hippies carrying luggage began singing and dancing at the bus stand and when the police asked them to leave, said they were waiting for a bus to Goa and would go once it arrived, they recall, clearly disturbed by the experience.
