Kerala Floods: People fight for existential dilemma in Idukki

Around 11 lakh people were affected by the flood in Idukki and 34,000 people sought shelter in the relief camps.
Buildings on the verge of collapse near the Cheruthoni bridge. There are hundreds of such buildings being reinforced by people after the floodwater receded
Buildings on the verge of collapse near the Cheruthoni bridge. There are hundreds of such buildings being reinforced by people after the floodwater receded

IDUKKI:  The sun is out in the high ranges, and the neelakurinji has bloomed. When life should have been at its joyous best in Idukki, people are left to pick up the pieces from the tale of destruction unleashed by an insanely high amount of rainfall in August. To be or not to be in the same place is the big question. Express examines.

After a series of nightmarish days with heavy bouts of rain coupled with gusty winds and floods bringing normal life in Idukki to a screeching halt, it is springtime now in the hill district - the neelakurinji has finally bloomed en masse in the Munnar hills. Though everything is beautiful outside, people are yet to recover from the shock nature had given them a week ago. When Express met a cross-section of people, they were in a state of loss with a good number of them saying, “Everything is fine outside, but we do not feel anything in our heart as we are yet to come to terms with the reality.”

However, life has started showing signs of going back to the pre-flood days. Despite a government order banning new construction in landslide-prone areas, people who returned from relief camps have started reconstructing their battered houses. More dangerously, people have started to construct or reinforce the damaged houses or retrieve the land they lost in the deluge. When we met Ambika (name changed) at Chappathu, she was constructing the rear portion of her house taken away by the river with the help of two masons.  

“I have been living here for the past 43 years and I have never experienced such rain,” she said. “It was an extraordinary situation and we don’t think the same will happen in the coming years as well. I have two daughters and I don’t have the means to go to another place and start a new life,” she said. 
A small tea shop associated with the house is her means to raise her family. This is not an isolated case. Hundreds of families who returned from relief camps run by the government have started rebuilding their houses and lives as well.  

In another incident, a shop owner near Chappathu was served a stop memo by the village officer following complaints he was reconstructing his hotel damaged in the heavy current of water from the Cheruthoni spillway. However, the owner resumed his work as soon as the village officer left the area. And everywhere people are reclaiming what they lost and within a couple of months, Idukki will be the same with buildings abutting into the rivers and hills giving way to houses and buildings.

The district administration expressed its inability to contain such incidents to a certain extent. District Collector Jeevan Babu said, “The state government has announced those who lost their houses completely or whose houses were damaged partially will be given compensation. But we can’t block them if they go to their old buildings and reinforce them in order to start anew.” 

Lurking danger
The government rehabilitation would take time and we can’t turn a blind eye to their sufferings till then. But, at the same time, we will convince them about the dangers lurking in the landslide-prone areas and floodplains,” he said. Power Minister M M Mani, who hails from the district, shared the view of the district administration, saying the government order temporarily banning construction activities in the ecologically sensitive areas lacks vision and practical knowledge. 

Around 11 lakh people were affected by the flood in Idukki and 34,000 people sought shelter in the relief camps. It’s not possible to rehabilitate the entire people to other areas, he said. “Our immediate priority is to rebuild the district as it is the worst affected in the state in terms of revenue and infrastructure loss. Further, we have to hold detailed studies regarding the new changes felt in its terrain and we should take a policy decision with a long-term vision based on the study,” he said.

A large section of people echoed their sentiments regarding the unscientific, illegal and illogical encroachment into the areas prone to natural disasters. K M Jalaludheen, Cheruthoni grama panchayat member, said, “We can’t turn a blind eye to the unending encroachment into the revenue land, especially water bodies.” The dam management has to be done more efficiently. Every year, a particular amount of water has to be released into Periyar from Idukki and Idamalayar reservoirs which will prevent the encroachment into the river bed to a certain degree, he said. Former Mullaperiyar Agitation Council chairman C P Roy said the situation in Idukki has worsened with the district’s ecologically fragile areas like Munnar emerging as a tourist destination after the 90s. 

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