KOCHI: Living in houses with broken walls and roofs, residents of Mullasserry Thuruthu 4 cent colony near Nedumbassery are in constant fear of a cave-in. Worse, they have nowhere else to go. There are around 48 families in the colony, who are looking for a ray of hope from the government for new homes. Staying in a low-lying area, the people here always shift to relief camps during heavy monsoon.
Rajan T K, a resident of the colony, lives in a home which is around 40-years-old. It is the oldest house built in the area, but after the floods, the walls were damaged and they are are living in constant fear of a building collapse. "We cannot stay in our home," he told Express. "The roof of the house may collapse any time in the wind. We have lost everything in the floods, even our homes. Now, we stay at the community hall relief camp set up at the colony," said Rajan, who is a daily wage worker.
The well is also on the verge of collapsing. "We cannot even draw water from our well. We do not even have money to rebuild a new house, said his wife Sunitha Rajan. There are around 18 houses in the colony which are not fit for living.
The lack of title deeds for the residents is also creating a matter of concern among them. "The water level almost touched 10 feet submerging the entire houses in the colony. The houses were built by the government, but we have not been given any title deed for the land and therefore we do not know what will be our future plight," said Omana Madhavan, an anganwadi teacher and a resident of the colony.
Surendran and Shiji had to take a house for rent out of the fear of living in their own homes. Surendran, who is in a coma for two years, relies completely on the medical support system. Shiji, his wife, looks after her husband and three daughters by working as a daily wage labourer. "Our daughters are studying in colleges and with our house gone, we do not know what will be our future. We do not have the money to rent a house. But we were forced to move out," she said.
Union Minister’s visit
While visiting the camps at the community hall in Mullassery, Union Health Minister J D Nadda assured the residents that under the scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, houses will be built for people whose dwellings were damaged in the floods. Meanwhile, the residents pleaded to the government to raise the level of land in which they are currently occupying. “The major problem faced by the people here is that these are low-lying areas. The government must take steps to raise their lands to higher levels in order to prevent floods in their homes,” said Anvar Sadath MLA.