Forty two year-old physically challenged Vijay Nayak was distraught after the collapse of his ancestral tile roof two-room house near Kannur post office in the city after heavy rain two years ago while he miraculously escaped unhurt.
On Sunday, Mr. Nayak was happy to formally receive keys from Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyas Kamath of the house that has been reconstructed by the latter at a cost ₹5 lakh.
“I am really grateful to the MLA for getting the house reconstructed. The local Councillor Chandravati Vishwanath played a great role in timely reconstruction of the house,” said Mr. Nayak, who stays in the house along with his younger sister Shanti, who works in a firm in the city.
Mr. Nayak stayed in the tiled roof mud floor house given by one Raju Shetty to his father to look after latter’s adjoining farm land and continued to stay there even after cultivation was stopped. Mr. Nayak who suffered disability following a fall during house painting work, was allowed by Raju Shetty’s son Dhiraj Shetty to stay in the house and take care of their property.
After a spell of heavy rain two years ago, the mud-wall house was completely damaged after the compound wall of the adjoining house fell over it. “We could rebuild only a part of the house and the MLA helped us to complete the work,” said Ms. Shanti.
Mr. Kamath told The Hindu that when he visited the house along with the councillor and local BJP activists, it was in a poor state. “They practically had no shelter,” he said. Mr. Dhiraj Shetty and his family came forward to offer the land on which the house was situated, to Mr. Nayak. “I managed to arrange funds to build a decent (two-bedroom) house,” Mr. Kamath said and praised active involvement of party workers from the ward in reconstructing of the house.
Mr. Kamath said similarly a house that was damaged in a fire was recently reconstructed in Veeranagar in Padil. Two houses in dilapidated condition were reconstructed near Bairadi Kere and in Maroli. A house each was recently rebuilt in Alape and Urwa, he said.
