The woes of the tribals residing in Kuttampuzha panchayat seem unending, with the struggle for land and water continuing unabated.
Though the government has already spent ` 45 lakh for each tribal hamlet in the panchayat, the benefits are yet to be reaped.
Water tanks have been built under the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), a Central Government scheme to provide drinking water to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe colonies. Though the scheme was initiated in 1998, the tribals complain that they are yet to reap its benefits.
“These tanks could have catered to our needs but till date, we have not benefited from the same,” said Aaniyappan, a native of Kuttampuzha panchayat.
Ambili, a promoter of Scheduled Tribes in Kuttampuzha panchayat said that the tanks were built in 2004-2005.
“The water stored in these tanks are fully contaminated as of now. The initial plan was to lay a pipe which would link the tanks and the different areas. But it was not done in a scientific way and has defeated the whole purpose,” she said.
“To draw water from the wells, we have to walk for about half an hour to and fro and that too deep into the forest,” they said.
An alternative solution has been found by a few by laying pipes from the natural water sources. This is not a viable plan on the whole. “The water source is not near to our dwelling place and would cost around ` 6,000. This is not affordable to us. We are still battling acute water shortage,” Aniyappan said.
Kothamangalam panchayat block development officials said that the scheme has not come up for discussions in the review meetings convened by the district administration for the last few years. “It shows that the scheme has come to a standstill,” said Naseer Khan, block development officer of Kothamangalam panchayat.
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