The relocation of thousands of people settled in the landslide-prone upland areas of Kozhikode district in Kerala continues to be a big challenge for the local administrators with the reluctance on the part of majority of residents.
Citing agriculture works and animal husbandry activities, many of them are ignoring the warnings issued multiple times by the disaster management authorities and the local administrators.
Though Thiruvambadi panchayat reportedly has the widest areas of such risky spots occupied by upland farmers, no families have responded positively to the relocation request in the wake of the rough weather alert.
Previous research reports of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) confirms that 23.79 % of the total area of the panchayat falls under the high-risk area. Many of these locations have also witnessed grave landslips in the past, claiming lives and causing other massive destructions.
“We issued alerts at the beginning of monsoon season itself to ensure safety. People residing at Kalppini, Anayodu Anakkampoyil and Koombara are in the high-risk group, but they are unwilling for any relocation now citing agriculture activities. We are helpless,” says Thiruvambadi panchayat president Bindu Johnson.
The situation is almost the same in the case of tribespeople settled in three different hamlets around the problem spots, she adds.
Ms. Johnson points out that places such as Anakkampoyil and Pulloorampara have witnessed multiple incidents of landslips in the past causing severe destruction to property and lives. “Wards such as Kavukallel, Anakkampoyil, Kodakkattupara, Ponnamkayam and Urumi continue to be the most dangerous spots where residents are seemingly indifferent to safety instructions,” she reveals.
The Koodaranhi grama panchayat authorities are also experiencing an almost similar situation where they face cold response to safety alerts and relocation requests. The middle and upper-middle class families settled in landslide-prone areas are reportedly the majority who are unwilling to cooperate with the safety instructions.
“We are in a situation to contact individuals and families personally to convince them about the seriousness of the situation. In the case of elderly people, we are taking utmost care ensuring that they move to their children’s home at least in the evening during rainy days,” says grama panchayat president Mary Thankachan. She reveals that most of the families are reluctant to adjust with the facilities at the relief camps.
Emergency facilities
On the other hand, the leaders of leading farmers organisations from the upland areas alleged that the local bodies were ill-equipped to meet the actual rehabilitation needs of the affected people. According to them, the local bodies should come up with the emergency facilities first and start the rehabilitation measures for the needy families.
In Kozhikode district, rural areas such as Kattippara, Narippatta, Kavilumpara, Kayakkodi, Chakkittappara, Thiruvambadi and Kodenchery are highly vulnerable to landslides and flooding. A massive landslide which took place in Pulloorampara in 2012 had claimed eight lives. Two other major landslides in 2018 at Karincholamala and Kannappankundu in Kattippara panchayat also claimed 16 lives.
Revenue department sources confirm that a number of previous field-level studies have highlighted the risk factors in these locations and that the residents will have to cooperate with the local administrators to ensure their safety.
