Kisthapuram Narasaiah had no idea about what was in store for him on February 27. After bringing his house down, he was living in a toilet. In the wee hours of that day, the 60-year-old man set out to attend nature’s call, when he fell into a deep pit, dug for the construction of double bedroom houses, and died.
Two days before that, 70-year-old Masanapally Mallavva had died. Locals attributed her death to the severe cold she had to brave due to poor accommodation. On February 13, another elderly woman, Kuchigari Shivavva, died — her death was also attributed to the severe cold.
According to locals, in December 2017, as many as 46 houses were brought down by them in this mandal headquarters, after MLA S. Ramalinga Reddy assured them that double bedroom houses would be constructed in the place of those houses.
While deep pits have been dug to lay the foundation, there has not been much progress since. It was in one such pit that Narasaiah fell and died.
Tudum Mallesh, a resident of Raipol, said the three deaths could have been avoided if they had a roof over their heads.
M. Nagaraju, a local who also brought his house down, said: “Now officials say that it [constructing double bedroom houses in place of the old houses] is not possible, as each house needs 125 yards for construction. They are instead asking us to accept houses with ground plus one floor or ground plus two floors at far off places, which is not acceptable to us,” he said. Such houses would also make it hard for the residents to tend to their livestock, he said.
Speaking to The Hindu , the TRS MLA said the houses that were brought down were of different sizes. “The families are not ready to divide them equally among themselves to make way for the construction of double bedroom houses. Hence, the administration has purchased two acres on another side of the town to build double bedroom houses for 50 families,” Mr. Ramalinga Reddy said, adding that he had visited the village four times and held discussions with locals.
An official said the mess had been created due to the administration’s failure to measure the available space before bringing the houses down.
Masanaipally Pochavva, another resident who brought down her house following the MLA’s promise, is currently staying at a temporary accommodation covered with asbestos sheets and minus a door.
National SC Commission member P. Ramlu, who visited the village recently, directed the officials to provide temporary accommodation and three months’ worth of groceries for the families.
