Alappuzha: Krishnamma, 68, of Kainakary, stood on the wobbly legs before debris of her house. Her eyes welled as she spoke about her miseries. A few years ago, she suffered a stroke, and she can't work anymore.
She had three children - two daughters and a son, who died. One daughter married off, and she's living with the second daughter, a divorcee, the only breadwinner in the family.
When the unprecedented flood hit in August, her old house tumbled down. The wave swept away all her belongings. She doesn't have even a proper toilet now.
As the government came up with the offer of relief, she thought she could build up her shattered life again, applied for a new house through the much-touted Rebuild Scheme.
But even after six months, there's no response and her life ended up in a tin-roofed shed built with the Rs 10,000 immediate relief she received.
Ms Krishnamma requires at least Rs 2000 for her medicines every month, and she survives her daughter Sreelekha's income from the national employment guarantee scheme.
She and her daughter are clueless whether she was on the list of beneficiaries. A couple of months ago, surveyors came and took photos of what's remaining of her house and assessed damages.
There is no issue on the ownership of land as well. Months down the line, neither her Ward-1 member nor village officials reached out to them.
Her life will become more miserable when monsoon sets in, for her tin shed will not survive water intrusion.
Ms Krishnamma's is not an isolated case. A realty check this newspaper carried out on Tuesday after the claim of district administration that they would finish disbursal of relief funds up to 50 per cent damage by the second week of this month found 119 residents in the Mullakkal settlement got no single penny.
T.K. Karthikeyan, 59, says officials had estimated 29 per cent damage to his house. But at the end of the day, he has been paid nothing.
Pushpa, 53, stays in a house in near-collapse and she continues to knock on the doors of authorities.Officials, she says, have no clarity on the list. She stood numbed as she explained her experience of running from one office to another.
Rajan, 67, has been waiting for his share of relief from rebuild scheme.
But officials did not tell him even what their assessment was.
A father of three daughters he says he has no way to move on.
"We have lost our hope. No officials have come to my house to take stock of the situation," his wife Girija says.
"We approached the village officer and ward member several times. But they too have no clue if we were on the beneficiary list."
Suseela Babu, the ward member, said that the Mullakkal villagers were left out as the paper works were still unfinished at Ambalappuzha village office.
'The village is not under Kuttanad Taluk but Ambalappuzha. I've prepared the list and submitted to Ambalapuzha village months ago. It's their responsibility to finish the work. I hope all will get funds by the end of the month."
'53,385 beneficiaries paid'
As many as 53,385 flood victims in the district have received financial assistance under the Rebuild scheme of the government till February 18, officials said. At least 1162 people are on the list of the housing project. Out of this 800 have been given the first instalment and 239 finished the first phase and received the second instalment.
Out of 30,472 people who suffered 15 per cent losses, 28956 got paid while 17056 out of 17,466 who suffered 16-29 per cent damage have received relief.
In the category of 30-59 per cent damages, 4771 out of 9252 have been given the relief, while 1688 of 3737 applicants in the category of 60-74 per cent received money.
Apart from this, 114 beneficiaries under the Care Home project introduced by the cooperative department have been given the first instalment. Works of 164 sponsored houses are progressing, said the district administration.
