It was on a rainy afternoon of August 8 when 19-year old Harish and his brother, Jishnu, left their uncle’s house on Muthappankunnu hill in Kavalappara, Malappuram. The brothers crossed a bridge over a stream next to their house in Nilambur, to rescue a family of 8 who had been trapped beneath a landslide on the other side of the hill.
As they reached the spot of the landslide, the brothers saw neighbours frantically search through the pile of rubble where their house once stood. The house belonged to Mahmood and his family of 7, which was the first to crumble under the landslide in the region.
Mahmood's daughter - 17 year old Fahmida - had managed to climb a coconut tree and from atop she watched her family being wiped away by the waves of mud and rock. Fahmida is the sole survivor of the landslide from her family.
As for Harish and Jishnu, that was the last time the brothers saw their uncle - Vijayan. The deadly landslide which wiped out the entire hill on August 8 claimed the lives of 59 residents including Vijayan and his family.
However, this is a 4-month old story and for the families that are still recovering, the absence of help from the government has upset their lives further. "We lost our loved ones, our land and our house. But we still haven’t received any help from the government,” Harish says.
Over 72 families in the landslide affected region of Kavalappara in Nilambur have been waiting for the state to release funds it had promised to resettle the survivors.
Within days of the calamity, the government had announced a sum of Rs 10 lakh to resettle each family whose land and residence was destroyed by the landslide. However, none of the affected families have been rehabilitated to date, Harish says.
“They has said that they would allot a few acres of land for us near Kavalappara to build houses. So far, the state has only released ex gratia to families of the landslide victims. But what about those who have lost everything and are still living. Why is the government not thinking about us?,” asks Anilkumar, another resident who was forced to vacate his house in the area after August 8.
Other than the 72 families that lost their houses, another 100 families living in a 200 metre radius of the site of the landslide were asked to move away as the region was declared geographically uninhabitable.
During this arduous wait, Anilkumar and his family have lived with their kin, shared single room residences with two or more families and even moved back to their old house as they could not afford to pay rent.
“One month ago we moved back to the old house in Kavalappara. But even if it drizzles, we rush out of the house. We are scared to live here but have no choice,” Anil says.
Harish and Jishnu too echo similar sentiments as they struggle to find a roof over their heads post the landslide.
“We spend Rs 3000 on rent every month. For the first 3 months, the state government supported us but now we have to pay from our pockets,” Harish adds.
On Sunday, the 172 families in the region observed a token protest against the state government.
Where did the funds ago?
According to Rajesh, a native of Kavalappara who led the protests on Sunday, no local body committee has been constituted by the state government to manage the allocation of funds to be distributed to affected families
“Each family has been promised Rs 4 lakh to build a new house and Rs 6 lakh for new land. The government said it will identify the land and build a house for the families. Over the last few months, we have approached the Tahsildar, Village Officer, Land Revenue Commissioner and others regarding the status of rehabilitation. Nobody has any answers for us,” Rajesh alleges.
While there is reportedly no government appointed committee to oversee the rehabilitation process in Kavalappara, Save Nilambur, a campaign headed by MLA PV Anwar and MP PV Abdul Wahab had organised fund collection drives for rehabilitation of the landslide survivors. However Rajesh alleges that the 172 families awaiting rehabilitation have been kept in the dark about this campaign and the fund collected by the leaders.
“We asked the district Collector regarding Save Nilambur and the fund collected for rehabilitation. He told us that the campaign had nothing to do with the state government and was independently run by the MLA and others,” Rajesh tells TNM.
According to Anilkumar, members of the Nilambur block panchayat, including President PP Sugathan, promised that the first list of beneficiaries would be published by January. “But they have been giving us the same excuse for the past 4 months,” he added.
Speaking to TNM, Malappuram District Collector Jafar Malik said that the district administration had completed the survey of families who’ve lost both land and house, among other categories. In Nilambur, a total of 230 families living in and around the landslide hit area have been instructed to shift from the location, which is found to be unsafe for inhabitation post the calamity. These families, who have lost both their land and house, are eligible to receive Rs 10 lakh (Rs 6 lakh for land and Rs 4 lakh for house) as relief from the state. However, the families have to identify the land they want to purchase and apply for the fund, the Collector added.
“We will only provide land for the 27 tribal families residing in the relief camp in Nilambur currently. The other families have to identify the land they want to purchase. On verification of this land as well as the beneficiary’s eligibility, an advance of Rs 50,000 will go to their account from the state. Following registration of the land, Rs 5.5 lakhs will be directly transferred to the seller’s account. This is to ensure that beneficiaries use the amount to buy land. After purchase of land, the first instalment of Rs 95,100 will be transferred to them to start building a house,” he added.
The Collector confirmed that post survey, a list of eligible families eligible has been sent to the Land Revenue Commission office and they will verify the list before the finance department releases the funds.
Regarding the delay in disbursement of funds, the Collector said, “The relief amount comes from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) - and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) - from the centre. Some amount of delay occurs while getting fund amounts cleared from SDRF.”
A different story in Puthumala
While Kavalappara’s residents suffer from the collective apathy of the block panchayat and the state government, in the neighbouring district of Wayanad, survivors of another landslide which struck the Puthumala village in Meppadi on August 8, will soon be relocated to an eco-friendly township located 2 kms from the site of the landslide.
The township has been designed to accommodate 64 families who lost their houses to the landslide which wiped out Puthumala. While these 64 families lost their houses in Puthumala and 30 other houses had been partially damaged, the landscape of the region had completely changed following the calamity. 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.
In order to plan the project, a People’s Committee has been convened, 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. Apart from the 64 families, the new township will also accommodate 30 other families whose houses on Puthumala have been partially damaged and have been forced to move out. Additionally, the township will also be built in to house flood victims from other parts of Kerala who wish to live there, taking the total count of houses to 144.
Built on 11.75 acres of land, the township is the collective effort of panchayat members and survivor families, and will house a play group, a school, an anganwadi, a local health centre, a women’s self help group centre and a hall which will operate as a shelter home/relief centre with the capacity to accommodate 5000 people inside, Sahad KK, Panchayat President of Meppadi told TNM. It is situated about 2 kilometres from the site of the landslide in Puthumala, in the Vazhakkala estate – a 28-acre private property.
“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.
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.
Meanwhile, the old site of the Puthumala village which had been wiped away by the landslide will be turned into a memorial garden by the Panchayat. According to panchayat members, the land and damaged houses will be retained as such and photographs and newspaper clipping will be placed in memory of the calamity that took place on August 8, 2019. The place will also remain open to tourists which will house a memorial garden.