The forest is his abode

A small farmer of Mudigere taluk who lost his house during the heavy rains last year is still struggling

The tribal family that lives in a cave in the forest area in Mudigere taluk.

A tribal family, which lost its house in the heavy rains last year, has been staying put in the forest area of Kallakki in Mavinakere gram panchayat of Mudigere taluk for the last few months. Ananth and his wife Annapurna have found their house in a cave-like structure in the forest. The couple have two children. Their daughter Amritha studies in a residential school at Menasinahadya near here and son Avinash stays put with one of their relatives. The daughter is staying with her parents as the school is closed for the summer vacation.

The family belongs to Gowdlu, a tribal community. Ananth’s house at Kalmakki collapsed during the heavy rains last year. He is a small farmer with a little over one acre of land. And, his was the lone house in the area with nobody nearby. He looked for a suitable place and settled amidst rocks in the forest, about four kilometres from his village. Occasionally, he works in agriculture fields as a daily wage worker. The family has set up a fireplace to cook food and depend on fruits available in the area.

When a team of journalists met him recently, he said he moved to the forest as he had no house. So far no relief from the government reached him, he said.

When

The Hindu contacted Chikkamagaluru Deputy Commissioner Bagadi Gautam on Thursday, he said he got to know about this issue this morning and directed Mudigere tahsildar to visit the place and take appropriate steps to shift the family to a temporary shelter. “This family belongs to Mavinakere gram panchayat. We have identified 10 acres of land for the people affected by the heavy rains. The government has sanctioned ₹1 lakh each to all those who lost their houses. We will verify whether he got the relief or not”, he said.

Hundreds of people had lost houses during the rains last year. The DC said many of them had begun the construction utilising the relief amount sanctioned. “The construction of houses is at various stages. However, the lockdown hit the work. We have formed teams to speed up the work”, Mr. Gautam added.