Irsalwadi survivors feel let down by politicians

Betrayed and battered by the elements the survivors of the Irsalwadi landslide near Khalapur in Raigad district now feel let down by the elected representatives The survivors collectively are yet to make up their mind on voting while some in their individual capacity are keen to vote as doing so would give them an opportunity to question their elected representatives Fortytwo families continue to stay in the makeshift temporary containers in Chouk Khalapur post the landslide that swallowed the entire village and they claim that none of them have voter cardHave voted in the pastMadhav Maruti Sutak 25 had voted in the last election and this time was keen to cast his vote but without a voting card he is unsure if he will be able to cast his vote ldquoOur entire Irsalwadi got wiped off by the landslide Nearly 84 people 27 dead bodies recovered and 57 missing were presumed dead with many bodies getting trapped under the debris We lost everything including our family members within no timerdquo he recalledMaadhav and his family are amongst others who have not received their replacement voting cards after they lost the original beneath the debris after the landslide PicsMadhav Maruti SutakldquoI had voted during the last election but this year all the survivors including the firsttime voters staying in the makeshift containers will miss their chance to vote as we do not have our voting cardrdquo said MadhavSimilar concern was raised by Kamlu Changu Pardhi 63 another survivor who said ldquoI too do not have my voter card I had voted in previous elections but I not certain about this election if I would be allowed to vote without my voter cardrdquoIrsalwadi wiped offJagdish Pardhi 32 said ldquoI am not sure if Irsalwadi exists anymore our entire Irsalwadi is under the debris Even though I do not have my voter card none of the election officials or candidates or their representatives have visited us nor have we been assisted in making our new voter cardrdquolsquoWe are left in the lurchrsquoSutak is keen to vote as he will get an opportunity to seek accountability from their elected representative for abandoning them When asked to elaborate he claims ldquoWe have been in lurch for the last couple of months ndash we are left to fend for ourselves We have no potable water the water filter that has been installed is not cleaned for months and now the water we consume stinks Besides the elevated water tank has also not been cleaned Since summer has set in our taps run dry most of the timerdquoRelatives of the victims at Nanavli Gaon in the immediate aftermath of the disaster PICSATEJ SHINDEldquoWe were assured of monthly ration and provisions but other than getting 25 kg of rice and 10 kg of wheat on our ration card we have to arrange for all provisions required for cooking from oil to spices including getting groceries and vegetablesrdquo said Jagdish The community dispensary which was to have roundtheclock doctors is nonfunctional ldquoWe are forced to go to Aapla Dawakhana in Chouk for any health issueslsquoNo jobrsquoThe state chief Minister himself had assured us of giving jobs to us so that we could make a living but till date we have not any sign of the government making a move in this regard said Sutak When asked about the source of livelihood he said ldquoWhile some of the survivors who were employed continue to work and those who were looking forward for government assistance in getting a job are still without a job We are forced to work as daily labourers for R300 per day on a temporary basis Some people visit our area and handpick a few of us for doing the labour work and the remaining days we have no workrdquoExtreme heatWith rise in temperature during day time Tuesday temperature in Khalapur was around 41degC as per private weather report those staying in the makeshift containers with asbestos sheet as roof are finding it extremely difficult to spend time inside the dwellings due to extreme heatWhen asked about ventilation Sunil Parde another survivor said ldquoIt is so humid inside the container and as days progresses it becomes impossible to stay indoors Even the small fans provided in the container make the situation worse by circulating the humid air We spend most of the time outside the container under shades of branches Also at night most people prefer to sleep outside the container rather than inside Even the water kept in earthen pots too remains warm making it tasteless for consumptionrdquoDeath certificates awaitedOut of 84 presumed dead only twentyfive plus death certificates have been issued by the district administration so far ldquoWe have not received death certificates of our next of kin And even attempts to contact the new district collector did not yield any results The previous collector Dr Yogesh Mhase was fully aware about our conditions and the work was happening on a war footing basis But he has been transferred and even district administration officials who were otherwise visiting us regularly have stopped their visitsrdquo claims SutaklsquoYet to receive full compensationrsquoMost of the survivors have not received the full compensation as assured by the government they claimWhile the both central and state governments were to pay Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh respectively as exgratia payment to the next of kin of the dead victims in the landslide many still await the full compensation ldquoI lost five members of my family in the landslide and I have not received the full compensationrdquo said JagdishOut of 84 people the rescue team could retrieve only 27 dead bodies from the debris before they called off the search and rescue operation due to extreme weather conditions The remaining 57 villagers were declared missing The survivors requested the state government to declare all the missing villagers as lsquopresumed deadrsquo to avail the government compensation as announced ldquoI was in touch with a district administration official inquiring about the pending death certificate and I was told that I will have to wait for a few years before the death certificate could be handed overrdquo said SutakCollective decision on lsquovotingrsquoThe survivors are keen to have a discussion on the forthcoming election and whether they want to cast their voteSome even want to boycott the election as none of their demands have been met and they are left to suffer ldquoWe will be taking a collective decision on voting soonrdquo said one of the survivorsOther sideAyub Tamboli tahsildar Khalapur said ldquoAs per the revenue records Irsalwadi comes under Assembly Constituency 190 and the polling station for the survivors will be Morbewadi polling stationrdquo When informed that the survivors have not received the voting cards Tamboli expressed surprise and said ldquoWe had taken special camps for getting their Aadhaar and ration cards made and voting cards might have been issued to some if not I will need to checkrdquoVoters slip and one of the 12 documents can be used as a proof for exercising their franchise Aadhaar card job card issued under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme MGNREGS passbooks with photographs issued by banks or post offices health insurance smart card issued under schemes of the Ministry of Labour driversrsquo license PAN card smart card issued by the Registrar General of India under the National Population Register passport pension document with photograph service identity cards with photographs for employees of Central and State governments official identity cards for MPs and MLAs and UDID card for persons with disabilities