No power, school or health centre, Velips of Cotigao hamlet want to join the mainstream

POINGUINIM: Atop the Ravana hill deep inside Cotigao wildlife sanctuary, the 100-odd residents of Keri hamlet follow a primitive lifestyle. Despite the government’s declaration of having achieved 100% electrification of households in Goa, the Velip and Gaonkar tribal community members of Keri are yet to see what an electricity connection looks like.
The government did make attempts to provide solar power to these tribals, but the dense forest cover interrupted supply during the monsoons.
Situated more than 700 feet from mean sea level, it is a treacherous trek of 12km from the Cotigao village panchayat office to get to Keri. The journey can only be undertaken by foot in the absence of a road, and it takes one three hours to get there.
“In 2018, Keri sheltered 80 people in 15 houses. While 40-50 of them reside in the village, the younger population of school students, drivers and daily wage labourers live at the base of the hamlet to be able to study and work,” said Laxman Kushta Velip, a senior resident.
The poor living conditions, without any basic amenities, has even forced some of the villagers to try shifting to nearby hamlets like Tirval, Poinguinim, said Velip.
“There is no electricity in our hamlet, although other hamlets at the base of the hill have had power for decades now. We’ve made constant demands to the government, but we have not received electricity connections, proper roads or any medical assistance,” Velip said.
Another Keri resident, Gouresh, has a female family member who requires treatment for mental illness.
However, she is forced to carry on her life without any medical assistance due to the location of her residence.
“We don’t know where to take her as there is nobody to help us. Earlier, in cases of pregnancy, midwives would come up the hill to assist. But nowadays, the women go down the hamlet and stay with their relatives,” said Gouresh.
It is not an unusual sight to see the ill being wrapped in a cloth and carried downhill on shoulders in search of treatment.
“I had a paralytic attack, and to be taken to a Canacona hospital, the villagers wrapped me in a piece of cloth and carried me on their shoulders for 15km until we got some vehicle. The experience was terribly painful,” said one resident.
The tribals are now of the view that the government should either provide them with basic facilities like a road, school and healthcare, or plan the Keri residents’ rehabilitation to another area which can offer them a better quality of life.
“All we have received so far from the government is four solar panels for the entire village and two bulbs for each house during the previous election. But these solar panels did not work during the monsoon,” said 27-year-old Gokuldas Velip.
Cotigao sarpanch Umesh P Gaonkar said that under the forest rights committee, underground cabling has been carried out upto Nadkem. “We are looking forward to making Keri electrified. We cannot cut the trees due to strict restrictions of the forest department. Twice I have sent letters to the power minister, and so in all probability, I hope that this issue will be settled soon,” he said.
Range forest officer (wildlife), Canacona, Anant Velip, said that permission of the national and state wildlife board will be required to carry out any developmental work in the forest.
“If there is electricity there, habitation will no doubt grow, but transportation through the forest can have an adverse effect on the forest. The government had promised them land in the plains. If they come down and stay, they will get all the basic amenities. Health and education facilities can also be provided to them easily by the government. Secondly, their food habits and language are also a bit different from other Goan tribals, and they need to make up their mind on shifting and mixing with others,” he said.
The Velips residing in the far-flung and isolated settlement of Keri have not given up their original places of settlement over the years, as their very existence is intimately linked to the land they hold, said professor Arvind N Haldankar of Shree Mallikarjun College, Canacona, who has a doctorate dealing with lives of the Velip tribals.
“But after having encountered an absolute deprivation of the barest necessities, a majority of the Velips are now manifesting an inclination of leaving their age-old habitats. In the wake of embracing modernity, these forest dependent families aspire not to remain marginalised but to be a part of the mainstream society. Thus, their desire and hope for a better future warrants special attention and necessary intervention,” said Haldankar.
This would require sustainable investments by government and non-governmental agencies to reconstruct their livelihoods, he said.