This year too, the local politicians of Pavandoor had reached the dilapidated house of Kalyani, 75, with a handful of offers, to lure her to Naduvaloor AMLP School polling booth.
Though she turned down their requests to vote, they forcefully took her to the booth.
“Why should I cast my vote? Whom should I give my vote? Whether they win or fail, my plight is not going to change. Look at the condition of my house. Every year they come to my house seeking vote, but they are least bothered about how I am living in this house. It may collapse any time. Where will I seek refuge? I don’t know how many years I will have to vote for these people like a puppet,” says Kalyani, who has been living alone in the dilapidated house at Parayannur Colony in Pavandoor village in Kozhikode district for nearly 35 years.
With moth-eaten rafters on the ceiling and a tattered tarpaulin sheet over it, two sarees in place of doors and windows, the tottery house tells everything about the vulnerability and insecurity of the old woman living inside.
“I am also a human being. Basic amenities are the prime needs of everyone, but I am denied even that. I do not even have a toilet in my house. Nowadays I am too weak to walk out of my house. The house also do not have any windows and doors. Reptiles can enter inside at any time. In heavy downpour, I fear my house may crumble,” said Kalyani.
Kalyani has been approaching the authorities to get her house reconstructed for the past 35 years.
Now the mother of five sons and one daughter, who deserted her several years ago, is surviving because of the mercy of her neighbours.
“I have spent a major portion of my life looking after my children. I was the only support to them. I never bothered about my personal comforts. Now, nobody is there to worry about me. They all left me in darkness. Yet my heart is longing to see them all at least once before my death,” says the mother in tears.
Kalyani does not know why the authorities are yet to open their eyes.
She has lost all hopes for living in a strongly built house.
“I am suffering from a lot of ailments owing to old age. I have only little money with me to bear the hospital expenses. When asked, the authorities told me that they had already allocated fund for my treatment as well as for the construction of my house,” says Kalyani.
However, when contacted, panchayat president K Mohanan said that he would try to help Kalyani, after visiting her house.