Moved by her plight, Kerala youth build shelter for dalit woman

KOLLAM: A homeless, destitute dalit woman  and her niece hailing from Adinadu West at Kulasekharapuram here will soon get deliverance from their plight thanks to the efforts of a group of youngsters who have come forward to build them a house.

The woman, Thankamani,  and her niece, Kingini, 11, a sixth standard student,  have been living  in a shack for over the last eight years.  Thankamani had lost her two sons in an accident and her third son has  been missing for many  years.

“Kingini is  the daughter of Thankamani’s  brother Sunil, who is no more, while her mother has been missing for a long time. She has  a brother Aswin who is with the Child Line now. The youngsters, moved by their condition, decided to build them a new house costing Rs 2-3 lakh,” said Mr V. Saiju,  convener of the action council, and  a former panchayat member of the CPM.

The panchayat had about eight years back sanctioned Rs 35,000 to construct a house on a piece of land allotted to  them at Kattilkadavu here. However, as the construction started, Thankamani lost one of her sons, Suku. The works did not progress   since then.

The new house will be built at the same location. Thankamani and the child now live in a  shack thatched  with flex prints. The woman collects plastic from roadsides to cover the walls of the hut. Her  sole income is from ‘Thozhilurappu’  once in a while.