Dozens of tribal families living in squalid conditions in Vaniyampuzha, Tharippapotti, Iruttukuthy, Thandamkallu and Kumbalappara hamlets in an isolated swathe of forest across the Chaliyar river at Munderi near Nilambur are on the warpath, finally.
Marooned and uncared for, they have been living in pitiable conditions ever since the 2018 floods took away many of their homes as well as the three bridges across the Chaliyar. Their cries for safer houses and facilities such as drinking water and power and at least a bridge to connect to the the mainland have fallen on deaf ears, even five years after the devastation.
It has been a year since the State Human Rights Commission ordered the Scheduled Tribes Development department (STDD) to construct a new bridge across the Chaliyar at Munderi for the 140-odd families living in the five tribal hamlets. But, the bridge still remains on paper.
