THAVANJAL (WAYANAD): For those living in the hilly terrains of Wayanad, landslides have become a regular affair. They have started to face a huge risk as a reality and have made suitable changes in their way of living to overcome it. It’s a fact that the majority of those living in this harsh terrain has no other option but to hold on to small tracts of land which they have bought for a nominal rate.
Of late, they have started to move to the houses of their relatives during the rainy season. While many take houses on rent for two to three months in safe locations, the hapless stay in the houses of their friends and relatives.
But people complain that it is the large-scale illegal construction activities on the hillsides that caused the majority of the landslips in Wayanad, devastating the lives of people living down the hill. ‘Express’ visited Makkimala in Wayanad where a major landslide killed a couple in August 2018.
Though Makkimala has been categorised as a high-risk zone by the district administration, a large number of families continue to live on the hillsides even close to the spot where last year’s landslide had completely destroyed three houses.
Currently, 29 families have houses in the area and out of them, only seven families have stayed in their houses once it started to rain heavily this June. The rest of them vacated their houses to avoid their stay in hills during the rainy season.
“We don’t have any option but to stay at a relative’s place or take a home on rent. For three days we stayed in a relief camp. But we came back once the rain stopped,” said 35-year-old Amir Thattalathudi. Pointing to the house which was destroyed in last year’s landslip, he said, “I know the risk of living here. But where will we go? My family needs a place to live in. This is the shelter which I earned in my life,” he said.
Amir lives along with his wife at a thatched roof house close to the one which was destroyed in last year’s landslide. Suhara Puvathundi, 61, who has been living in Makkimala for the past 40 years, said it was the construction activities on the top of the hill that caused the landslip last year.
“Many people are buying acres of land on the top side of the hill. They dig large ponds to hold water for construction activities. Though we raised complaints with the authorities, they didn’t do anything to stop it at that time,” said Suhara.
“I have been living here for the past 45 years. Where will I go? I am ready to face any risk here,” said 65-year-old Varkey T M, another resident of Makkimala.
The sad tale of Makkimala
Though Makkimala has been categorised as a high-risk zone by the district administration, a large number of families continue to live on the hillsides even close to the spot
where last year’s landslide had completely damaged three houses.
‘No place to go’
Yesudas A M, 53, said his family is not afraid to live in the house in which they have been living for the past 40 years. His friend and neighbour Biju Pullat too shared the same opinion.
“This is our house and we don’t want to leave this place. We shift to relief camps when the officials ask us to do so. We return and live at the same place,” he said.
Steps to ensure the safety of people in Makkimala
The government has already listed Makkimala as a high-risk zone. The panchayat has entrusted NIT-Calicut to conduct a study on the stability of the hill. “We are yet to get the report,” Aneesha Surendran said adding the panchayat has decided to give lands at safer locations to those living in highly vulnerable spots on the hill.
WHAT THE AUTHORITIES SAY ON ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS
Thavanjal panchayat president Aneesha Surendran said they have taken note of the large-scale construction activities being carried out on top of the hills.
“We don’t give clearance for any major constructions on the top side now. In fact, we have stopped issuing permits to new buildings. We have noticed that many people from Kozhikode and Kannur are buying vast tracts of land for constructing resorts and dug ponds on the sides of the hill to hold water for construction work. We are conducting surprise checks. In one or two cases, we have issued stop memo and reported the matter to the state government,” she said adding that they are now thoroughly monitoring construction activities in the guise of building houses.