Isolated from the world outside the forest, residents of Santhampara, Chinnakanal and Rajakumari face each day with trepidation. Rajakumari: The rainy season drowns Adivasi colonies in a sea of woes. Threat from wild elephants, hunger, dilapidated dwellings and lack of work make their existence pitiable.
Isolated from the world outside the forest, residents of Santhampara, Chinnakanal and Rajakumari face each day with trepidation.
A majority of the residents at Kozhippanakudi and Aduvilanthankudi have no houses of their own. After the monsoon started, most of the huts made of mud bricks and thatched with hay collapsed. Attacks of wild animals, including elephants, are a common occurrence.
The tribal folk engage in agriculture, but their fields are regularly raided by wild boars and elephants. There is no motorable road connecting Kozhippanakudi and Aduvilanthankudi, forcing the tribal folk to take the elephant path to reach ration shops. As a result, many families have stopped buying ration during the monsoon. The road to Manjakuzhikudi has also become treacherous after the rains started.
Sick and elderly people needing medical attention have to be carried on chairs or cots to hospitals. The only educational institution accessible to youngsters is the local Anganawadi.
Many of the residents of the tribal hamlets lack ration card or other identification documents. This has made them ineligible for government aid. Neither the politicians nor members of the general society are concerned about the plight of the forest folk.
