THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘‘I had spent all my savings on the house which is now unfit to live in, after the sea erosion. We've been requesting the Fisheries Department to provide a replacement since the last sea erosion. Until Tuesday, nothing had been done. Right after this erosion, department officials took the list of the houses on the verge of collapse," said Steven Vinny, a fisherman from Valiyathura who had lost his house partially in the sea erosion which lasted from Sunday night till Tuesday.
The erosion had affected eight houses on the coast. “The erosion happens every year and the promises made by the government remain unkept,” he said. The shoreline retreat had destroyed two houses partially leaving another six houses at the verge of collapse. According to Steven, two lanes of houses along the coast have been wiped out in the past four years.
The residents of the eight houses have been shifted to the Buds Rehabilitation Centre. However, fishermen families are not provided with basic amenities or food in the centre. Mani, a Tamil fisherman who has been residing on the coast for the past 20 years was seen cooking in the ravaged house. "The thought of cooking here terrifies me but I've no choice. The officers did not enquire about our food or basic amenities. I didn't want to leave my kids starving, thus I came to cook food for my children," he said.
"Currently, the centre is not recognised as a rehabilitation centre. Post recognition, the department will provide food to the centre," said one of the members from the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, who visited the affected area.
The space provided at the Rehabilitation Centre is insufficient for eight families.Therefore, some families were asked to move to a temporary shelter at a godown in Valiyathura Junction by the village officer. "How are we supposed to stay in a godown in the soaring heat? Also, the godown neither has proper facilities nor is it a safe place for ladies and kids," said Sebastian S, a fisherman.
The Matsya Bhavan Office functioning in Valiyathura has listed the houses. "We have listed 14 houses. Eight are in the front lane and the rest, the second lane. The same has been submitted to the Department of Revenue and the Department of Fisheries," said Jessy M V, Matsya Bhavan officer.
Fishermen question the delay taken by the government. "They will wait for the next erosion to evict us. Why can't they do something to prevent erosion," asks Perial Phebians, a victim of the erosion. “The government has no humanitarian consideration. The Fisheries minister who had come to the church for Ockhi relief did say that the government had no plans in building breakwaters to protect the coast from erosion," she said. Those included in the list of houses destructed by the erosion in June have not been facilitated with houses. "We pay a hefty rent now. No action has been taken yet," complained Vasantha Benedict.
Citing the actions taken by the government the deputy director of Fisheries, Thiruvananthapuram, P Beena Sukumar said, "Though there are five vacant flats at Muttathara, the same must be allocated to the those who have lost houses in the last erosion and Ockhi."