Rights panel orders rehabilitation after Vaniyampuzha tribal families spend 7 years in plastic tents

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Tarpaulin makeshift houses in the Vaniyampuzha tribal hamlet across the Chaliyar river at Munderi. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN

The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has directed authorities to urgently rehabilitate Paniya tribal families living in makeshift tarpaulin shelters at Vaniyampuzha, across the Chaliyar river at Munderi in Pothukal panchayat of Nilambur taluk. As many as 26 families have been living in plastic tents since the August 2019 floods destroyed their homes.

Commission judicial member K. Baijunath directed the Malappuram Collector and the Scheduled Tribes Development Department Project Officer to submit a report within a week on the rehabilitation measures taken, the current status and the steps planned to complete the process within a fixed timeline.

Although the floods destroyed two concrete bridges connecting the tribal hamlets across the Chaliyar near Munderi seven years ago, one has since been rebuilt and is awaiting inauguration.

Children from Vaniyampuzha and neighbouring hamlets attend schools at Munderi, Nettikkulam and Pothukal. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN

The commission registered a suo motu case following a detailed report in The Hindu on September 11 on the living conditions of the tribal families.

The commission said it was seriously concerned that the affected families had not been provided permanent rehabilitation seven years after the disaster. It noted that the lack of basic facilities and their continued stay in temporary shelters affected their right to live with dignity and access to safe housing.

The commission directed authorities to take immediate steps to shift the families to safe, permanent residential facilities. The case will be considered at the commission’s sitting at PWD Rest House at Tirur on September 23.

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