After last year’s floods washed away their homes, the tribals have been living in temporary homes near Coimbatore.
The forty homes with tattered roofs were arranged in rows near a forest in Nagoorthupathi tribal hamlet of Coimbatore district. The tribal community members in the region have long been residing in the homes built by their ancestors. Every year as the monsoon approaches, the homes would get flooded and the rainwater would drip through the metal roofs. And last year, even the basic structure got damaged in the floods.
From then on, the residents of the village have long been demanding two things: Home and solar power. The demands were finally heard and the people will be receiving solar power but their wait for the homes continues.
The Nagoorthupathi residents say that solar lights are important but the Tamil Nadu government should rebuild their homes damaged during the floods. Kavitha, a resident of Nagoorthupathi said, “Our homes were destroyed during the last year floods and the rainy days are approaching this year. The children are unable to sleep in the homes during rains. So the government should build us homes. Now they are giving solar power but if they give after building homes for us, we think it will be useful for us.”
The floods in the previous year also damaged solar power given by Tamil Nadu government in the late 1990s leaving them without any form of power to support their electricity needs. Hence, they upped the demand to provide both solar power and new homes.
Babu of Nagoorthupathi said, “We reside in a home with metal sheets and the homes will get flooded during the rains. As the floods destroyed our homes last year, we are residing in temporary homes. The Tamil Nadu government, as per the available provisions, should build us homes.”
The residents also urged the government to provide patta for their land. He said, “We do not have patta for the land yet so they should provide patta and build homes under the provision (The scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers (Recognition of Forest Right) Act 2020) after which they should provide solar power to the newly-constructed home.”
The dwellers are also residing without any basic facilities, groping in the darkness for medical emergencies. “We pass through the village and streets with no light even during medical emergencies. We use only torch light and we should also cross waterways. Hence the government should build a bridge to help us commute,” added Babu.
Source: The News Minute