Thirty-seven Adivasi families of Vaniyampuzha colony, near Munderi in Pothukal panchayat, have been living in tarpaulin sheds on a hillock in the Nilambur forest since the August 8 floods devastated their hamlet.
At night, their men and women sleeplessly guard their children from a potential raid by elephant and leopard.
When the wind swings the giant trees around them, their days and nights become nightmarish. As many as 169 human beings are living perilously in these sheds firmly saying that they will face their destiny.
One bamboo raft
A bamboo raft operated by a few Adivasi men in the fast-flowing River Chaliyar is the only means to reach the tribal colony marooned by the floods.
No remnants of the bridges that connected the mainland with the colony across the Chaliyar were visible.
The floods had washed them away.
No media could reach Vaniyampuzha until The Hindu reporting team did on Monday. Elephant footmarks were visible all around their sheds. “We are safe from floodwaters. But we can’t sleep at night. Anytime, elephants can attack. Our men had a narrow escape two days ago. On Sunday night, we were terrified by the sighting of a leopard near our tents,” said B.K. Sudha, who is a member of the Vana Samrakshana Samithi.
When the floods ravaged their colony on August 8 evening, all of them had run up the hill into the forest. “We had a kind of premonition. We ran up this hill taking whatever things we could carry. We never knew what a relief camp was like,” said S. Gireesh, a youngster who finished his hotel management programme.
Ms. Sudha carried Vellaka, the eldest person of their community, on her shoulders when she ran for life. Widow of former tribal leader Vellen, Vellaka was more than 100 years of age and could barely see.
But she smiled broadly when The Hindu team approached her. Her husband had been killed in an elephant attack at Thandankallu colony a few years ago.
The tribespeople said their colony was ignored when people from other areas came for cleaning after the floods. “We feel like we are being deliberately ignored. We have not done any harm against anyone,” said Ms. Sudha’s husband Babu.
A delegation of the District Panchayat led by president A.P. Unnikrishnan risked their lives to reach the colony on Monday.
“This is one of the worst human sufferings we could see. I was aghast at seeing their plight,” said Mr. Unnikrishnan.
Narrow escape
Their delegation had a narrow escape when the Adivasi men lost the rope of the bamboo raft. “We were terrified. The currents took the raft downstream in such a speed that we feared drowning. Luckily we were saved by a giant log against which the rudderless raft hit,” said Mr. Unnikrishnan.
The other tribal hamlets across the Chaliyar like Tharippapotti and Kumbalappara too were hit by the floods. But their men and women are not so much exposed to the elements as their friends and relatives in Vaniyampuzha colony.