Suchitra still trembles with fear, describing the terrible day she lost her dear home two years ago. The 42-year-old widow watched from a distance as a huge hill came off, burying everything on its way. Tons of mud cascaded down the slope, bringing along with it, trees and houses, and blanketing the area with a thick layer of mud and stones.
The landslip completely turned a scenic village into a red lake of mud and stones. Today, as she stands outside her newly-built house, Suchitra is a relieved woman. The government might not have returned everything she had lost, but it has at least built a new home for her.
The Care Home project of the Department of Cooperation has come as a huge
relief to thousands of people like Suchitra who were left homeless by the floods
and landslides that took place two years ago. The government built 2,000 houses
under the project across the state.
The cooperative societies joined hands with organisations like the
Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society and Cooperative Academy of
Professional Education on a voluntary basis to provide technical guidance for
the project. While the Department of Cooperation gave Rs 5 lakh towards
building each house, the local cooperative societies provided their profit
share for the project. For drawing out plans, the engineering students came up
with the necessary inputs.
As these houses were built without any set of models, a beneficiary council was formed to work out a plan for each family. The council, which has representatives from cooperatives, panchayats, and the beneficiaries, sat together with the flood-hit people and asked about the plans they wanted for their houses. The plans were worked out according to their requirements and looking at the geography of the area, as much of it is flood-prone.
As the houses were built on pillars, the beneficiaries can now live in
their houses without having to fear floods or landslides. The construction was
completed with a proper foundation that can withstand a normal flood. In the
second phase of the project, the government is mulling the construction of
apartment complexes in each of the districts for homeless people.
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