Months after Kodagu disaster, homes still under water

The recent natural disaster in Kodagu  has changed the topography as well as lives of people from bad to worse.

MADIKERI : The recent natural disaster in Kodagu  has changed the topography as well as lives of people from bad to worse. In Haleri village near Suntikoppa, where four houses of a family once stood, a lake-like topography has been created now. The four houses of Muthamma, a daily wage labourer, are still under water, with just the roof of one of them popping out. 

An estate labourer and a mother of three sons, Muthamma, who is in her eighties, owned 4 acres of estate land. Her three sons, all estate workers, built houses adjoining their mother’s house. When rains hit Kodagu, the houses of Muthamma and her sons  were in the midst of natural disaster. Her estate was under silt.

A teary-eyed Muthamma said, “The flood water in the area has not been cleared yet. We have been able to retrieve just a cupboard from under water. It has been over two months since the disaster, but apart from the initial visit from the MLA and other officials, no one has come to help us.” The family is now forced to live at a relative’s place in Kushalnagar.

“During the public interaction session, we had raised the complaint with the Deputy Commissioner, who ordered officials to help us retrieve our belongings. However, no one has visited us till date,” complains Sunitha, Muthamma’s daughter-in-law. 

Kedakal village Panchayat Development Officer Veena said, “Following the public interaction at Suntikoppa, a written request to clear the water was submitted to the executive officer of taluk panchayat, who has asked for `2 lakh. Since an earth mover cannot reach the spot, we have asked the family to bare 50% labour charge.”

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