MYSURU: Kempamma, who has suffered at the hands of officials for over two decades and hit the headlines on Monday after she was slapped by Housing Minister V Somanna, has emerged as the icon for many families struggling for a shelter.
She has now become Kempakka, a sister, for her fellow villagers at Hangala in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar district. Kempamma does not regret losing her cool and rushing towards the minister to protest against her name missing from the beneficiary list. “I have been on the streets with my two children for 20 years. How long should I be without a site or a house,” she asked.
When she got married to Puttaraja Nayak, they moved into a small rented accommodation. “We were on the streets again after my husband suffered from a kidney ailment and the house owner did not want a death in his house. My husband died on the streets. Later, I worked as a farm labourer, bought five asbestos sheets, put up a small hut on the roadside and lived there with my two sons for nine years,” she said.
She submitted an application for a house five years ago. “When I came to know that my name was missing from the list, I lost my cool. I made the minister understand what had happened to me. Local officers might have thought that I had no support and I was not well off to complain against them. They told me that I had not given my Aadhaar card and other records, which is not true,” she said.
“We have not cooked food nor taken bath. We have knocked on the doors of neighbours for food, while others are celebrating Diwali,” said Kempamma, who earns Rs 200 a day working in the fields.