A nine kilometre-long trek through hills and forests, followed by a boat ride across the Neyyar river, and an auto rickshaw ride of 3 kilometres – that’s how 1,200 people of the Thodumala tribal settlement at Amboori in the Parassala constituency reached the polling stations on Monday. That’s how they have been voting for the past several decades.
At the Kumbichalkadavu, where the boat ride ends, the remnants of the foundation stone of a promised bridge can be seen, pointlessly enduring the rain and shine. Local people point at a small load of metal dumped some distance from there, another reminder of what could have been.
“I have been ferrying passengers across this river for the past 16 years. The Amboori panchayat has appointed me on a daily wage of Rs.150. The first ride starts at 5.30 a.m. and the last one is at 9.30 p.m. In case of medical emergencies, which happen quite often, I will have to be available. If a bridge comes here, I will lose my employment and I might even have to starve. But, having seen the suffering of the people here, even I wish for at least a foot bridge across the river,” says Saju, the boat man.
Out of the total of 1,238 voters in the Thodumala settlement, 879 belong to the Kani tribe. Though some of them live close to the river, many live as far as 9 kilometres away, beyond the hills.
“There is tapioca, rubber and other cultivations in the settlement. But these are destroyed either by bisons or elephants. Some of us go outside for employment. But making this long trip twice a day is exhausting. We have got virtually no help from the government, no roads, no schools and no hospitals,” says Kaalikutti, who has made this trip for two purposes – to vote and to sell mangoes.
The settlement could be reached from Tamil Nadu by road, but motoring is not easy through these paths and the main road is pretty far away.
“It is when someone falls sick at odd times that we really suffer. Many have lost their lives in these past decades because they did not get treatment on time,” says Parappan Kani, a resident and the forest tribal watcher.
But still, whenever there is an election, they make this trip, in the hope of someone who really cares for them coming to power and building them a bridge.
