A three-storey multipurpose cyclone shelter set up under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) in Pallippuram panchayat, the second such shelter in the district, is expected to benefit the people of four coastal panchayats, especially in times of natural calamities.
Apart from Pallippuram panchayat, it will be accessible to the people of Kuzhuppilly, Edavanakkad, and Ezhikkara panchayats as well. The shelter with dormitory-like arrangements, which was inaugurated on Thursday, needs only a few finishing touches before it can turn fully operational. Fully funded under the NCRMP, it has come up on Revenue land.
“We did not have to evacuate people owing to natural calamities since the floods of 2018. But since it is a multipurpose facility, we can use it for people-friendly projects other than political and religious purposes when it is not used for the primary purpose of sheltering people hit by natural calamities. For instance, it could even be used for hosting marriages of members of poor families for a nominal fee,” said Remani Ajayan, Pallippuram panchayat president.
The shelter will be administered by a management and maintenance committee comprising representatives of all four local bodies, and Police, Fire and Rescue, and Revenue departments. “The committee will decide the purposes for which the shelter can be used. The first meeting of the committee is slated for Saturday,” said Deepa P.N., assistant secretary of Pallippuram panchayat holding the charge of secretary.
While an annual maintenance fee will be allocated under the NCRMP, avenues like sponsorships will have to be explored to mobilise funds for other expenses. The Public Works Department is required to supervise the annual maintenance.
The other multipurpose cyclone shelter inaugurated in Vadakkekara panchayat on April 1 is yet to turn operational. “The process of registering it as a society is under way while we are also awaiting water and electricity connectivity. The management committee has met only once and hence decisions regarding its usage are yet to be taken,” said Reshmi Anilkumar, Vadakkekara panchayat president.
