The rehabilitation of Pettimudy landslip survivors is not an easy task for the district administration with the parental company, Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) Ltd, holding the rights over allocating accommodation for estate workers living there for generations.
The chances of providing alternative accommodation are remote as it will affect the employment opportunities of those who work with the company. Since the parental company owns the land and tea estate workers are traditionally given accommodation in estate lanes, alternative land and accommodation to the survivors are near impossible unless the former decides so.
Only a few survived the landslip that buried four estate lanes at Pettimudy on August 7. Finding the next kin of victims to provide the compensation announced by the government is also a task as entire families have been wiped out. So far 66 bodies have been recovered in search operations that extended to nearly a month. Four are still reported missing.
A 12-member team constituted by District Collector H. Dinesan to assess the damage and rehabilitate the survivors submitted its report on Friday. A few of the families living near the ill-fated estate lanes have already left for their native places in Tamil Nadu.
A KDHP official said 18 workers with the company died in the landslip. The rest were working on daily wages with the Forest Department or as drivers of taxis though they were living at the estate lanes.
A local political functionary, who participated in the search operations, said the rehabilitation of survivors would be difficult as there was no accommodation available in the tea plantations and many among the new generation preferred to work outside.
“There is a proposal that if the company provides at least five cents to each survivor, the government could build houses making use of schemes such as the LIFE Mission. A meeting is scheduled for next week with the company representatives,” Devikulam Subcollector S. Prem Krishnan told The Hindu on Saturday. He said a hearing would be held to identify the legal heirs of the victims.
The estate lanes were constructed during the early plantation days and only annual repair works were done by the parental companies. Many of the estate lanes are in a pathetic condition, highlighting the necessity of alternative accommodation.
