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Lives on the line in linerooms on land ready to slide
Each time it rains the people in these homes are afraid of what might be the outcome. Pix by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi
Thirteen-year-old A. Vinodhani, a Grade 6 student, lives with her family on Meeriyabedda Tea Estate in Koslanda. She was a witness to the devastation caused by the landslide that occurred a few hundred metres from her home on the morning of October 29, 2014. She also knows that the area where her house is, has been identified as a high risk zone, and that, her parents have been asked to move to a safer place, but have been unable to do so for almost a year.
Today, Vinodhani’s family, together with 86 neighbouring families, live in fear, each time it rains heavily, not knowing at what moment the floor they stand on will slide or sink under them.
The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), by circular no. NBRO/LRR MD/BD/L7/31/14551/A, has identified the area on which Vinodhani’s house stands, as being fed by underground springs, and hence, highly susceptible to a landslide. Consequently, Haldumulla Divisional Secretary, Ms Shiromi Jeevamala alerted the residents and requested them by letter dated Jun.30, 2015, to evacuate their homes, citing the NBRO warning.
The Divisional Secretary’s letter states that action would be taken to grant the householders alternative plots of land, while also requesting them to be vigilant and take every precaution to protect their lives. Electricity to these houses was disconnected as a safety measure, while the Little Flower pre-school and the Meeriyabedda Tamil Vidyalaya which were in close proximity to these line-rooms were relocated.
True to her word, Ms Jeevamala has seen that plots of land were allocated to these families. However, to date, no assistance has been given to these daily wage earners to build their dwellings, while still living on unstable land.
The 75 families who were displaced by the earthslip in October 2014 are to receive houses at Poonagala, a few kilometers away, within the next three months.
Reminders of the Koslanda tragedy in 2014
“I walk to school each day and, if it rains heavily, I am unable to return home because we have been warned not to cross the path of the former earthslip, and even when I get home, I know it is not safe. At the moment there is no place we can take shelter in safety” said Vinodhini.
“Each time it rains heavily we are asked to leave our houses, while we don’t have any shelter to go to. I have three children. My eldest son is married and has two kids. We all live in one house. We were given plots of land close by, but we do not have money to build new houses. We earn a daily wage which is not enough to buy our food,” lamented 53-year-old Pushparani.
“I have two children and we live in fear each time it rains heavily. We have been asked not stay in our houses if it rains heavily, but we do not have a place to go to” said Vijayakumari, a resident of a line-room in Meeriyabedda Estate.
“The authorities worry about us only when it rains. They send the police and ask us to leave our houses. We do not have anywhere to take shelter. They should help us build a new house. The place where we have been allocated land is further away from here. Our children have a long walk to school and it costs Rs 700 a month to send one child by three-wheeler,” said S. Kandasamy, a kangani at Meeriyabedda Tea Estate.
Ms Jeevamala said, “There are many places within my area which have been identified as landslide-prone. The area in reference is where line-room nos. 14 and 15 are situated. We are unable to provide all of them with houses similar to the ones provided to the families affected by the Oct.2014 landslide. However, we hope to provide them with some assistance to build their houses. I have brought up the issue at the Badulla District Committee too. I have advised these people to use whatever resources they have and move out without endangering their lives and the lives of their loved ones, when they know very well they are living in a high risk area.”