Two months after a landslide wiped away almost an entire village in Wayanad’s Meppadi panchayat, a new, eco-friendly township has been planned for around 100 families who lost their houses and land.
Apart from the 64 families from Puthumala village who lost their houses to the landslide on August 8, the township will accommodate the 39 others from the same village who have been forced to leave their houses with the calamity leaving the land uninhabitable. The township will also be built in order to house flood victims from other parts of Kerala who wish to live there.
“In total, the township should be able to accommodate 144 families,” said Sahad KK, Meppadi panchayat president and secretary of the people’s committee which is planning the township.
People come together as sponsors
In the Puthumala landslides, 64 houses had been wiped off and 30 houses had been partially damaged. However, the landslide drastically changed the landscape of the area. Where the village of Puthumala once stood, a river which has changed its course now flows, making it impossible for residents to go back to the village.
Therefore, the township will aim to accommodate all of Puthumala’s residents and other flood victims.
“About 2 kilometres from the site of the landslide in Puthumala is the Vazhakkala estate – a 28-acre private property which has been identified as the site for the new township. Around 11.75 acres of this estate will be used to build the settlement and house residents along with other facilities. The land had been promised by several sponsors as well as the owner of the estate,” Sahad said.
“We have had many sponsors - Mathrubhumi newspaper that has promised to purchase seven acres, Malabar Gold will sponsor three acres. Apart from this, the owner of the estate has also pledged 1.75 acres of his land for the township,” he added.
So far sponsors have come forward pledging to build 100 odd houses for the families. “The MIMS Hospital in Calicut has pledged 20 houses; People’s Foundation has pledged 20; and electric scooter company Acton has pledged 10. A group of architects and civil engineers from Kozhikode have also promised to sponsor building 50 houses in the township. The rest will be taken care of by NRI sponsors,” Sahad shared.
A People’s Committee has been convened in order to discuss the township, consisting of panchayat members including the president and the secretary as well as the MP, MLA, District Collector, District Block President, and other political party representatives.
Inclusions in the township
The new township plan includes a school, an anganwadi, a play group, a local health centre, a women self-help group centre, and a hall which will operate as shelter home/relief centre during calamities which will be able to accommodate 500 people.
“With the self-help group centre, we aim to provide a space for women to practice their skills and earn a living. It can be anything from pickle making to cloth bag manufacturing. The relief centre hall was envisioned keeping in mind possibility of future calamities,”Sahad added.
Authorities are preparing to start the paperwork for the new township. However, the hurdle is that the proposed site is an estate land and hence registered as estate land which will have to be converted to patta land (a type of land deed which is issued by the government to an individual or organisation). “To get the license changed is a tedious process. By November 1, Kerala Piravi day, we plan to lay the foundation stone for the township,” Sahad said.
Currently, the families who have lost their homes in the landslide have been living in different areas on rent. The panchayat is also looking for those to sponsor the rent and accommodation of these families for the next six months.
“It will cost about Rs 9 lakh to house these families on rent for six months. The panchayat cannot pay this amount and hence we are looking for sponsors who will help us by contributing to these families,” Sahad added.
Eco-friendly measures
The township will also run on solar power and have rainwater harvesting equipment. G Shankar, the Padma Shri award winning architect, famous for using sustainable material and locally available products in his construction to promote eco-friendliness also inspected the site of the new township and will help in its execution.
Sahad said that authorities from the Department of Mining and Geology as well as Department of Forest inspected the new proposed site for the township and ratified that the location was safe to build a settlement.
Old Puthumala site to become a memorial
Meanwhile the old site of the Puthumala village which had been wiped away by the landslide will be turned into a memorial.
The land and damaged houses will be retained as such and the authorities will place photographs and newspaper clippings of the calamity that took place on August 8. The place will be open to tourists as well.
“We are planning to grow bamboo and other plants and create a memorial garden in the site,” Sahad added.