29 families to be rehabilitated from mudslip-hit Koombanpara

A high-level meeting called by Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine at the Idukki collectorate on Friday decided to rehabilitate 29 families from the mudslip-hit area at Koombanpara in Adimaly. According to officials, during the meeting, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials informed them that insurance coverage is applicable for threat-posing homes on the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway.

The NHAI should arrange the insurance claim, and the district administration will rehabilitate the 29 families with the support of the insurance claim. “If the insurance claim amount is less, the NHAI should provide the balance amount,” said the Minister.

According to officials, until the rehabilitation, the families will provide rented homes. The NHAI will bear the home rent amount. Financial assistance will be provided to those living in relief camps. In addition, the NHAI will provide financial assistance to the daughter of Biju, who was killed in the mudslip.

It was decided that the insurance money should be used only for purchasing land for the construction of homes. A joint agreement will be signed with the beneficiary, the local panchayat, the village, and NHAI.

Rehabilitation

The special team recommended that 29 families are eligible for the rehabilitation package, and the panchayat will take steps to find homes and land for the affected families. The families can return to their homes from the relief camp after the special team report recommends that there is no threat to them. The NHAI will construct a protection wall where the mudslip occurred.

A report submitted by the special team stated that unscientific road-widening works on the National Highway resulted in the mudslip.

District Collector Dineshan Cheruvatt, Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose, Udumbanchola MLA M.M. Mani, Devikulam MLA A. Raja, Devikulam Sub-Collector V.M. Arya, Idukki Sub-Collector Anoop Garg and District Police Chief K.M. Sabu Mathew, among others, attended the meeting.

The landslip that occurred near Adimaly on the highway to Munnar on the night of October 25 claimed the life of a Laksham Veedu Colony resident, Biju, and seriously injured his wife, Sandhya. On October 28, the doctors amputated Sandhya’s left leg due to severe injuries.