Kerala: Tribal hamlet happy save for drinking water

KOCHI: The summer ordeal has begun. With summer arriving, the search by over 210 members in 60 houses of the tribal hamlet of Variyam in Kuttampuzha panchayat near Kothamangalam, for drinking water is getting harder. Though the tribals lead a self-sufficient life by cultivating whatever they need, drinking water has been a major issue for them and they have been depending on rivulets in the area.  But with the summer sun beating down, some of the rivulets have dried up. Now they have to walk miles to collect water from rivers or other sources. The occasional summer rains bring relief but not much. Motorable roads end 15 km off the tribal hamlet and hence neither forest nor other officials visit the area. The plight of the tribals was revealed when a team of the economics and statistics department visited the hamlet as part of collecting basic details of panchayats for the 13th five-year plan.

“It takes at least two-and-a-half to three hours to reach the hamlet using a jeep through the rough road patch leading to the area. A total of 11 children study in the anganwadi set up for the tribals in the area and are taught by a tribal woman. The commendable thing about these people is that they cultivate rice, tuber crops and vegetables apart from coffee, pepper, and other crops. They lead a happy family life also but the main problem they face is the drinking water scarcity and they struggle for it for at least six months. Power supply also is yet to reach them though they have successfully experimented with solar lanterns,” said an official of the economics and statistics department. He said that the tribals were finding it hard to dig wells as it was a rocky terrain. “Government agencies can help them so that they can lead a less difficult life ,” he said.