Thottilaguri wall crash survivors in pitiable state

After the rehabilitation of families that survived the Thottilaguri wall collapse; no Bajpe panchayat member, district official, or elected representative has visited the Porkhody Colony in the past three years, said Sujatha, her eyes welling up with tears.

“We were rehabilitated to this colony against our wishes. Nobody is willing to even listen to our woes,” another resident Jaya says with dejection writ large on her face.

The tragedy

On the stormy night of June 16, 2013, an illegal compound of a commercial complex at the Bajpe bus stand collapsed on the tiled houses below in Thottilaguri.

The wall collapse which later became known as the ‘Thottilaguri wall collapse’ claimed the four lives including that of 14-year-old girl Chaitra and left 18 families homeless. In a few months of their temporary relocation to a dirty hostel located next to Bajpe panchayat office, 11 more people died of dengue and other diseases.

Finally, 15 families were rehabilitated atop a hill near the Porkhody government school on January 2, 2016. The then Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Abhaychandra Jain inaugurated the colony and promised to build an ITI centre close to the colony. Parliamentary Secretary to Chief Minister Ivan D’Souza had promised to release Rs 1 lakh and install solar panels on the roof of the settlements. These promises remain unfulfilled.

‘Insufferable condition’

The hellish condition in the colony that has left the settlers frustrated.

According to Sujatha, villagers cremate their dead at a ground located behind the colony. “When the pyre is lit smoke with the stench of burning flesh blows through our colony making us nauseous,” she lamented.

“The stench is so strong that we cannot eat throughout the day,” says Sujatha adding that their pleas to Bajpe panchayat for silicon trays at the crematorium have been ignored.

Two families, unable to cope with the hellish conditions in Porkhody colony, returned to their dwellings in Thottilaguri though it was declared unsafe by experts.

No water

To ensure water supply, KIOCL Limited had built an overhead tank of 50,000 litre capacity in the colony. Jaya said that for the last one month, the tank was not filled. The borewell had dried up, she added.

Sources in Bajpe Mescom told DH that the overhead tank would be filled with water if the length of the borewell pipe is extended. “Bajpe Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) refused to come to our aid stating that we are SC/STs and not taxpayers,” Sujatha said.

After nightfall, the hazardous effluents from factories envelopes the colony. Jaya said that the culverts built to drain water were covered with silt during the formation of layouts downhill. “In the absence of culverts, there will be landslides this monsoon making us homeless again,” Jaya cautioned.

Bajpe Gram Panchayat PDO and President did not respond to calls or messages.