Three years on, no compensation for elderly couple hit by landslide in Idukki
Landslide compensation remains elusive for an elderly couple three years after their home was damaged.
Landslide compensation remains elusive for an elderly couple three years after their home was damaged.
Landslide compensation remains elusive for an elderly couple three years after their home was damaged.
Vannappuram: For the past three years, 78-year-old Narayanan Panchikkal has been running from one government office to another, seeking compensation for his house, the front portion of which has been in a precarious state since a landslide.
On August 6, 2022, a landslide struck the premises of his home at Munneetti near Mullaringadu. The entire area was damaged and a room at the front of his house too collapsed. Fortunately, Narayanan and his wife Shyla escaped unharmed, as they were at a neighbour’s house at the time.
In the days that followed, Narayanan submitted applications to the village office and the agriculture office, seeking compensation for the losses suffered. But even after three years, he has not received any relief. Village officials keep repeating that they are still waiting for a report from the panchayat assessing the damages based on his application. With their home unfit to live in, the couple was forced to move into a rented house.
Despite several visits to government offices and meetings with officials and panchayat members, Narayanan and Shyla have received no assistance. Disheartened, they eventually stopped going altogether, choosing instead to save the money otherwise spent on travelling up and down from their hilltop residence. All they can do now is wait in hope.
Adding to their struggles, Shyla has become a patient and the family is finding it increasingly difficult to meet their expenses, from house rent to daily living costs and medicines. The couple owns 40 cents of land on the hilltop and dreams of building a modest home there. For this, they hope the government will release funds from the Disaster Management Fund.
Meanwhile, village authorities maintain that Narayanan’s application has been forwarded to the Tehsildar for follow-up action. The Assistant Engineer at the Panchayat insists that the report was already submitted to the village office, adding that there was never delay from the panchayat’s side in processing the application.