Madikeri: On the direction of DC Venkat Raja, a team of Somwarpet taluk officials visited Bananvara village on Wednesday, and inspected the tribal colonies, and discussed their issues, in Kaduhadige.Led by taluk panchayat executive officer Paramesh Kumar, a team including assistant director of tribal integrated development department Siddegowda, Somwarpet range forest officer Shailendra Kumar, Gonimaroor gram panchayat development officer Chandrashekhar, and other officials went to Kaduhadige and listened to the grievances of the locals. There are 11 families in this colony, with about 60 people.These people, especially girls and women, suffer without toilets. Since there are legal obstacles to building permanent shelters for tribal families in the forest area, plastic sheets will be provided free of cost, to temporarily cover their existing shelters. A joint committee of the local gram panchayat development office, and tribal department officials will identify 5 acres of the land to build permanent houses for the locals, officials said.Temporary drinking water pipes will be connected and supplied within 2 days, informed Paramesh Kumar. Steps will be taken to get addmission for children in various govt hostels for their education.“With the money we earned, we used plastic sheets to cover the huts during the rainy season so that rainwater wouldn’t get inside. But when the wind blew, the plastic sheets would fly away,” tribal locals explained. “Fearing the wild elephants, we had to go to the roadside tank to fetch water. Now they have said that they will provide it near our huts,” they added.
