Anxiety is growing among a large number of survivors of the worst flood in Kerala’s history as their houses from where the floodwaters have receded are still unlivable due to thick deposits of mud and slime on everything from kitchen utensils to clothes and the Government is planning to conclude the first phase of rehabilitation by closing down as many relief camps as possible by Wednesday.
Though some Ministers have said that those sheltered in relief camps would not be forced to leave, the Government’s plan is to stick to the Wednesday deadline in the case of the relief camps functioning at schools, most of which have remained closed since the second week of the month due to the flood situation and the Onam vacation.
The authorities are confident of completing the cleanup operation at flood-hit homes by Tuesday but the victims say that this would not make their homes livable as the volunteers were focusing on cleaning the houses and not the things in them. Also, many fear that their houses that had remained flooded for several days may not be safe enough to live in.
“They are saying the camp will be closed on Wednesday but where will I go with my two little childrenij” asked Maya Nair, a resident of Pandanad in Chengannur in Alappuzha district, one of the places that are worst-hit by the floods in the State. “They have cleared the mud from the floor. But everything in the house is still covered with this dirt and mud,” she said.
Maya also said that it would take many more days for her to make her house fit for cooking, and sleeping. “I have been going to my house during day time for the past three days to restore things. I even engaged two men for the work but it is not yet complete. Also, I am not sure about the condition of my house as it was under water for five days,” she added.
Families returning from camps to homes are being provided with a kit containing 21 items including essential commodities and some clothes. The Government has announced an assistance of Rs 10,000 each for families returning to homes for meeting immediate requirements but this amount will be transferred to their accounts only in a week’s time.
Drinking water is a big problem though the Government and volunteers are providing families with bottled water presently.
As an emergency measure, the Government is ensuing that one well is cleaned for a group of ten houses for the time being so that those families can get clean water though with some inconveniences.
Agriculture Minister VS Sunilkumar said that victims lodged at relief camps would not be compelled to leave relief camps till their houses were made livable. “The Government will ensure the smooth rehabilitation of the survivors. They need not have any concern about the financial assistance,” he said.
There are at least 10,000 flood victims who cannot return to their houses in Paravur taluk of Ernakulam district alone as they would need at least a week more to complete the process of cleaning their houses. “We are unable to speed up the process by hiring people because we don’t have the money for that,” said a daily wage earner from Maliankara in Paravur taluk.
Demand has also come up that the immediate rehabilitation assistance of Rs 10,000 for victims must not be limited to those lodged at relief camps but it must be given also to those staying at other places like relative’s houses. The Revenue authorities still do not have even an approximate estimate of such people as most of them have not returned to own homes.