Small pockets in the central parts of the city, populated by hundreds of people, still lack habitable housing facilities, leaving residents furious at all political fronts.
Kala Arun Kumar, a resident of Karithalaparambu colony near the KSRTC bus stand, is unsure if she wants to vote this time. The last time she voted, in the bypoll to the Ernakulam Assembly constituency last year, she had to wade through knee-deep water to get to the polling booth. This time, Ms. Kala, who works as a domestic help at Kathrikkadavu, wonders if there is any point in voting for candidates who do little but ask for votes.
The colony, comprising 49 houses, lies next to the railway track between the north and south railway stations. Between the railway track and the colony is a canal, that leads to a clogged Mullassery canal, the waters of which had flooded their homes in October last year.
Houses in the low-lying colony are in poor shape. “The structures are dilapidated and crumbling. The houses were spread out earlier, but around 17 years ago, the corporation turned it into a stack of houses, each measuring only around 180 square feet, which leaves little room to even change clothes. The structures were built on a small budget of around ₹35,000 each back then, partly with funds allotted for Scheduled Caste communities,” said K.C. Surendran, a resident, who is also a member of the CPI(M).
“The total area, of around 66 cents next to the railway line, could have been used to build more spacious homes. Now, there are at least five persons living in each tiny house,” said Omana D., a resident and a booth-level Congress worker. No political party or administration has been able to do much for the residents here, who do not even have title deeds for the land, says Ms. Omana, a cook in a nearby school.
With little space in their homes, residents have tried to construct flimsy, makeshift rooms covered with metal sheets above the existing structures, Mr. Surendran said.
Thanga Dasan, who says she has lived in the area for over five decades, says that besides a shed constructed outside the colony, to serve as a hall that they can use for functions, not much was done in the area after the houses were constructed 17 years ago. But the residents will all have political loyalties that determine their vote.
Sudha Dileep Kumar, the councillor representing Ernakulam Central, said that the land was held in the name of the Secretary of the Kochi Corporation. Some residents in the area were included in the list of LIFE Mission beneficiaries, she added.
The 85 families of P & T Colony in Gandhinagar have faced a similar plight for decades. The Perandoor canal, choked with toilet waste that empties into it from homes nearby, brings water into the houses at high tide. “We are still awaiting completion of the Greater Cochin Development Authority’s rehabilitation project. Residents have been angry that a project for which the foundation stone was laid two years ago, has not yet materialised,” said Rajesh, a resident.
