Families in the tribal settlement of Maniyankinar Unnathi in Kerala's Thrissur district are enduring another gruelling monsoon inside roofless, doorless houses. To keep the heavy rains out, they have patched up empty doorframes and windows with plastic sheets and woven mats. While government officials occasionally visit the remote settlement and promise a swift resolution, nothing materialises, leaving the residents to battle the rain alone.

The plight of these families stems from a devastating choice. Trusting government assurances of new concrete homes, they demolished their existing livable houses. Now, they have been living in makeshift shacks for over two years, in conditions far worse than typical cattle sheds.

Omanakrishnan, a resident of the Unnathi, deeply regrets believing the government's grand plans. "Demolishing our small home, which we built with our own sweat and blood, was the biggest mistake we ever made," he says. His family moved their household items into a tiny cowshed to clear the plot. But once the concrete roof of the new house was cast, the contractor abandoned the project and fled. Two years have passed, and the family remains cramped inside the cowshed.

Following Malayala Manorama's coverage highlighting the extreme hardships faced by the settlement's children, District Collector Shikha Surendran visited the Unnathi. During her visit, she publicly promised that housing construction would resume immediately and ordered the Tribal Development Officer to expedite the process. However, two months have elapsed since her visit, and the ground reality remains unchanged.

No one in the settlement knows when the construction will actually resume. Local panchayat members and department officials recently claimed that funds for the scheme would reach the panchayat office by July 30, after which work would begin immediately. That date has come and gone, adding to a long line of broken promises.

The tragedy is exacerbated by the absence of grassroots administrative support. Tribal promoters are mandated to visit the Unnathi monthly to monitor the residents' health, employment, nutrition, and children's school attendance before reporting to the tribal welfare department. However, residents claim that while paperwork is likely being submitted, these promoters never actually visit the homes to witness their deteriorating conditions.