Every evening at 7 p.m., a siren rings for two minutes from the Shivaji memorial in Halaga village, Belagavi district, north Karnataka. Children playing outside rush home. They are expected to study without interruption for the next two hours. Shivaji Janappa Santaji, a tailoring shop worker, said with a smile, "We have told them that each mobile is linked to the nearby police station and that police will pick up any child who watches videos or plays games. I think this has had some effect. If you visit our village between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., you will find that at least 70% of the TVs are switched off and mobiles are not being used." Halaga village made headlines for announcing this two-hour mandatory study period every evening. Village elders have asked parents to switch off TVs and mobiles during this time. Sadanand Basvant Bilgoji, gram panchayat member and former president, said the gram panchayat was worried about the rise of screen addiction after COVID. "In 2021, we were able to defeat the COVID virus, but we ended up introducing the virus of screen addiction. We forced them to study using mobile phones and consume all content electronically. That has become a problem we cannot tackle easily. Some of our members were inspired by a mobile ban implemented in Dhulegaon in Sangli, Maharashtra. We passed a resolution in the gram panchayat, bought a siren and began the experiment from December 17," he said. "Our message is not just for students, but also parents. Let us all talk to each other and build and maintain friendships." Peeraji Hanumant Balekundri, a construction worker, welcomed the move. "I could not study beyond primary school as my family could not afford it. Today, we are able to send our children to college, but they are spending too much time on mobile phones and neglecting studies. We will be happy if this compulsory study period helps them get free seats in government colleges," he said. Enforcing the rule is not easy. Elders find it harder to discipline teenagers than younger children. Some residents oppose the move. The Basti Oni area, where mostly Kannada-speaking Jains live, said they were not consulted. Mahaveer Halagekar, a shopkeeper, said, "Some Marathas in the gram panchayat have taken this decision and announced it in a hurry. Other panchayat members or community leaders were not consulted." Ramachandra Bua, who works in a hotel, said the ban on mobile phones makes it hard to accept UPI payments. Maragappa Kamble from Ambedkar Nagar said, "No one has come to our lane requesting us to switch off TVs or not use mobile phones." Mr. Bilgoji denied the claims of a unilateral decision. "Before the gram panchayat resolution, we held a meeting with School Development and Management Committee members from all schools—government and private; Kannada, Marathi, and English. We asked the village temple committee members and some government officers. We have gone around the village 3 to 4 times. We will also go again if needed. Our intention is good," he said. The siren and study period experiment began on December 17. The village continues efforts to curb screen addiction with this unique approach.