Kozhikode: The District Congress Committee (DCC) members and residents of Vilangad who were affected by the landslide in 2024 staged a protest in front of the collectorate alleging lapses in rehabilitation measures here on Wednesday. The landslide victims alleged that there were irregularities in the list of beneficiaries and allocation of land for the construction of new homes.

"Both sides of our house plot have been washed away, leaving the house unsafe to live. We have been staying in the rented house for months; then we returned to our home, though it's too risky to live there, especially during the rainy season. Our area, Manjakkunnu, is also unsafe as many of the landslides originated from this hill," said Thresiamma Puthanpurakkal from Vilangad, who attended the protest.

More than 150 people from her neighbourhood travelled more than 70 kilometres from Vilangad to participate in the protest. The Congress leaders said that the beneficiary list was published without any scrutiny. "The government published a list of 53, among which 37 were marked as eligible for a new home, and 15 others were marked as landslide-affected.

"They are not saying anything about the others, who lost their houses partially, or whose houses or areas became unsafe to live," said Sheby Sebastian, Congress Block Committee Secretary and a resident of Vilangad.

He said that the people of Vilangad need a rehabilitation package as there are issues related to mobility and infrastructure. The residents also said the government has not allotted sufficient land to construct new houses. Johnson, a social worker from Vilangad, noted that although there are offers from different organisations to build new homes, they can't start work because of lack of land.

MP Shafi Parambil inaugurated the protest. He said that the work of 20 houses, which he offered earlier, will be launched next month itself. Vilangad was hit by a series of landslides on July 30, 2024.