The quiet of the sleepy hamlet of Njaraneeli, around 40 km from here, is disturbed by the media contingents trooping in after the news of an 18-year-old girl’s suicide broke out around a fortnight ago.
This tribal hamlet in Peringamala grama panchayat has come under the scanner mainly after many suicides are reported from there in recent times. Official sources claim that over 40 people, mostly youngsters, have taken the extreme step since 2012. However, the intense media scrutiny and the high-profile visits, including those by Minister for Welfare of SC/ST A.K. Balan and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, have surprised many here.
“While many have died here due to various reasons in the past, a customary visit by an official from the local police station was all that we have been seeing. For once, there has been an attempt to understand what ails our society,” says Sreedharan Kani, the Ooru Mooppan (tribal leader) of the Ilanjium hamlet. Njaraneeli, Thevarathukavu, Eezhacode, Alummoodu, Kattilakkuzhy, Kuruppankala, and Kallana are a few other settlements of the Kani tribe in the region.
Welfare of a few
While there is no dearth of welfare schemes intended for the tribes, they have evidently benefited few here. The unpaved road that connects the tribal area, which extends around 7 km from the main road, is in a bad state.
Most of the residents live in thatched shelters, which, surprisingly, have mostly been electrified. However, the absence of water supply schemes forces them to depend on streams. Toilets are seen as a luxury. “The beneficiary lists for various schemes that are sent to the ST promoters are often altered to include the influential few. As a result, the Integrated Tribal Development Project has done little for our welfare,” Mr. Sreedharan said.
Schooling
Unemployment has also affected the tribespeople severely. While there are two public schools nearby — the Dr. Ambedkar Vidyanikethan CBSE Model Residential School and the Government U.P. School Njaraneelikani — not many pursue education beyond Class 10.
Deepthi, a nurse employed at the SAT Hospital, is one of the two in the area who has completed nursing education.
“Many students have to trek at least 5 km to reach school. Carrying the sick for long distances to receive medical care is a common sight here,” Deepthi says.
Also, the addiction among the youth towards liquor and tobacco has acquired worrisome proportions.
“For many youngsters, a trip to one of the two Bevco outlets around 7 km away to purchase alcohol is a routine affair. Shutting down these outlets will go a long way in solving much of our problems. There are also many who consume suka (tobacco) that is mixed with slaked lime ( chunnambu ),” Vikraman Kani, a government employee, says.
