Going back to her house that stands in water was what Saritha dreaded while living in the relative comfort of the flood relief camp. And for Ashwathi, she cannot think of another day in her water-logged hut with her 15-day-old baby.
“Water-logging is an annual affair for us, but in the last two years it has been pretty worse. There is no day that we wish at least once for a stronger place to live,” Saritha said.
Saritha’s long-pending dream, as of around 90 families in Kalluthankadavu, is soon to be a reality. The apartment complex built for the people in Kalluthankadavu by the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation will be handed over on October 2.
Excise Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan, who recently visited the Kalluthankadavu colony and the apartment complex, announced that the apartments were almost ready. The Corporation has promised to expedite the electrification work by September 25.
The Kalluthankadavu colony is located on the banks of the Conolly Canal in the heart of the city and is prone to water-logging whenever the water level in the canal rises. Most of these houses here have been in place for around 50 years and are mostly makeshift huts made of asbestos and flex sheets. All members of the colony had been in the relief camp at Zamorin’s Higher Secondary School, Tali, during the floods.
4 seven-story buildings
The apartment complex consists of four seven-storied buildings that can house up to 140 families. It has been constructed by the Kalluthankadavu Area Development Company. Each apartment consists of a bedroom, a hall, a kitchen and toilet. The buildings are connected by corridors and lifts.
The project conceived in 2005 has been delayed for too long due to technical glitches. The construction started in 2015 and was supposed to be completed by 2017, but was delayed after the builders ran into financial crisis.
The apartment complex is also to house those displaced from Muthalakkulam for the development of Kallai Road. They are now accommodated in a line quarters behind Government LP School at West Hill.
