Father-daughter duo brings light back to Koraga families’ life

According to the Kerala State Electricity Board, the nine families have run-up power bill of nearly Rs 30,000 and had little choice but to pull the plug on the houses in Perdala Koraga colony.
Bare minimum existence still a luxury in Koraga Communityand power supply was cut to nine houses.
Bare minimum existence still a luxury in Koraga Communityand power supply was cut to nine houses.

KASARAGOD: After long hours of weaving baskets from twines, they return to half-done unplastered houses every evening.

The state had built the houses for 32 families of the Koraga community --- a particularly vulnerable tribe indigenous to Kasaragod.

But the government found their bare minimum existence still a luxury and power supply was cut to nine houses.

According to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the nine families have run-up power bill of nearly Rs 30,000 and had little choice but to pull the plug on the houses in Perdala Koraga colony.

But Balakrishna A ---  the single teacher of the Multi-Grade Learning Centre, which sits in the middle of the colony — said the residents do not own such heavy gadgets to justify such bills.

Only 14 houses have power supply, he said. “KSEB cut the supply to nine houses. Six houses don’t have electrical wiring and another nine houses have damaged wiring,” said Balakrishna, who has been the teacher at the school for the past 19 years.

Now, nine children of the colony study in the learning centre in Class I to IV, he said. They use kerosene lamps. In the past 19 years, none of his students have landed themselves a government or a regular job.
The Koragas speak Tulu and keep to themselves.

“The baskets they make fetch them Rs 250 if they sell them in bigger towns like Kasaragod. The smaller sieves fetch them Rs 30,” he said. With such income, they cannot pay off such big dues, he said.

Samaritans to the rescue

Living in faraway Navi Mumbai, a writer and artist heard her father making frequent calls to his friends to raise money for a cause. When she checked with him, he told her about the Koragas living in darkness in Badiadka.

Her father, a retired export-import consultant, spends most of his time resolving social issues by sourcing funds from his friends and acquaintances. Every morning, he would clean the park in front of his house, pick the liquor bottles carelessly thrown there before the children come to play.

He also teaches English to the less-privileged children of Navi Mumbai. The artist-daughter crowdsources funds for her projects.

“So when I heard him, I posted Koragas’ story on my Twitter and Instagram pages,” said the artist.To be sure, she did not ask for money. Yet, many people replied to her asking how to pay the bills.  “They paid the big and small bills alike. Some had dues of up to `6,000,” she said.

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