Rain drains away their last hope

Civic workers in MCC quarters have to live with leaky roofs and overflowing drains

The MCC quarters for civic workers at Mahakalipadupu in Mangalore cannotstand the monsoon. — PHOTO: H.S. MANJUNATH

Plaster chips off the ceilings, cement blocks are exposed on the walls, and cracks widen with every spell of rain. This and a lot more grime is what the poor residents of quarters for civic workers at Jeppu Mahakalipadpu have to put up with during the monsoon, which brings along a gush of water either through leaky roofs of the quarters or overflowing drains nearby.

Janardhana, a grade-D employee of Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) and one of the residents of the quarters, pointing to the tarpaulin tied to the roof of their toilet, says: “Throughout the year, the dirty water leaks into the kitchen but we are helpless.” A total of 36 families – all of them either Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe – live in a row of three-storey rundown houses, constructed nearly 34 years ago. The crumbling edifices, the disintegrating wooden beams holding up the roofs and the collapsing canopies, the scene at the quarters is one that reeks of utter callousness and abject apathy.

While the MCC says the quarters are not “safe for habitation,” Deputy Commissioner (Development) B.T. Kantaraj says the immediate focus is to seal all the cracks. “It is an old structure, and there seems to be no quality of work. Every wall is load-bearing and some have developed dangerous cracks,” he said, adding that the residents will have to be evacuated in the coming years.

Notices issued

On May 27, MCC issued notices to 10 residents, asking them to vacate the premises. Senior officials said some more residents would be asked to leave. The residents are not pleased. “Where do we go? We cannot afford high rents in the city,” complained Pushpavati (63), among the first to receive the notices.

The residents took up the matter with MCC which assured them of a vacant plot in Pachanady near the dumping yard. “Because we work amidst dirt and garbage, it doesn’t mean we have live in it too,” bemoaned Vasant K.

Claiming that both sites suggested for rehabilitation of the residents – the other being in Surathkal that was deemed too far – were rejected by the occupants of the quarters, Mayor Mahabala Marla said the residents do not have confidence that MCC could come out with a layout for them in a year. “We will continue talking to the residents and chalk out a permanent solution,” he added.