Flash floods during monsoon have been a nightmare for tribal families living on the banks of the Panamaram river, a major tributary of the Kabani, in Wayanad. With the District Nirmithi Kendra completing construction of flood-resilient buildings, they are looking forward to better times ahead.
When heavy rain and floods battered the hill district two years ago, it seriously hit the tribal people of Kolathara, a remote settlement in Panamaram grama panchayat. The proposal for elevated houses was put forward by experts from NIT-Calicut (NITC) after the flash floods in 2018 and 2019.
“We have constructed 14 houses in the Kolathara tribal settlement, including seven flood-resilient ones in low-lying areas, said O.K. Sajeeth, project manager, Nirmithi Kendra, Wayanad. Each house with an area of 420 square feet has been constructed on nine concrete pillars, raised nearly two metres from the ground level.
Nirmithi Kendra has spent ₹6 lakh to construct each house utilising flood relief funds from the State government and a financial assistance of ₹ 2 lakh from the Tribal Development Department, Mr. Sajeeth said. The houses will be handed over to beneficiaries by O.R. Kelu, MLA, at 12.30 p.m. on Thursday, he added.
Each house has two bedrooms, a hall, kitchen, toilet, and a veranda. While vitrified tiles have been used for flooring, false ceiling is made of PVC. Besides, each house has two steel staircases with hand rails.
Incidentally, a similar structure has been constructed for a tribal family on a marshy land at Muttil. Nirmithi Kendra constructed 240 houses in 25 tribal hamlets in 15 grama panchayats in one-and-a-half years. Work on 60 more houses are under way, Mr. Sajeeth added.
