The recent floods which ravished Kerala resulted in over 400 people losing their lives, similarly the people of Kodagu too faced a lot of hardship following the devastating rains.
However, the plight of the Bavali tribal community which lives in the Karnataka-Kerala border in the remote location of Heggadadevanakote (HD Kote) Taluk of Mysuru did not catch the attention of the authorities nor the media.
Amal Thamby, a Chennai-based volunteer who was coordinating relief and rescue operations to Kerala got to know about the helpless situation the tribe was facing.
“The nearest town from there is HD Kote but it is in a very remote area. Kerala is much nearer to them, but there is no help from the authority as such. When we came to know, we managed to do the initial relief and rescue operations,” Amal said.
These people usually work in agricultural fields or plantations in Kerala but due to the devastating floods, all such activity has stopped.
The tribe resides in forest land of the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve which means conventional houses can’t be built for them as a permanent solution. Their existing houses of 2x2 square meters were constructed using bamboo sticks and mud. To help them Pipal Tree, an NGO, and the Forest Department are coordinating with architects to rebuild and design tribal huts.
Now the team needs your help, as they require funds to acquire material to build the homes. Crowdsourcing platform Ketto, is organising a fundraiser campaign for this process. You can contribute here.