7 days after floods, people still not rehabilitated

Pune: Seven days after the heavy downpour, the affected people still do not have assurances whether they will have a roof over their head any time soon. PMC Additional Commissioner Rubal Agarwal stated that PMC has been working on a plan to rehabilitate the affected residents at the earliest.

TangewalA Colony 
Shakuntala Mote, a resident of Tangewala Colony, said, “We are living on the footpath, and at night, we are sleeping at the Labour Welfare Board office.” 

“We have no place to even keep the clothes that we are receiving as aid,” he added.

Most of the around 90 houses in the area were severely damaged in the floods. While some have already been swept away, some were left in a dangerous state.

“We cannot go back to those damaged houses now. We cannot risk our lives again. All we need now is an assurance from the government that we will be provided with houses soon. There is a plot of land in front of Vidya Vikas School in Sahakar Nagar that is under the jurisdiction of the District Collector. We want the government to give us new and safe houses in that area,” Mote said.

Mohammad Sayyed, an auto-rickshaw driver residing in Tangewala Colony, said, “There is no place to cook food. The people residing in the buildings nearby are making arrangements for our meals. But for how long? Some NGOs were here with grains and other raw material, but we could not accept it as we do not have any appliances or place to cook.”

Ambil Odha Colony, Dattawadi
“It has been eight days since the incident and we have been still awaiting help from the government,” said Parvatibai Kamble, a resident of Ambil Odha Colony in Dattawadi. At age 62, Kamble lost her home and is temporarily living in a shelter at Sane Guruji School, Parvati, along with several others from her area.

“Many officials and politicians have visited our colony to assess the damage. Some people have also donated clothes, food, etc. But will it be enough?” she asked.

Annabhau Sathe Colony
A resident of Annabhau Sathe Colony in Aranyeshwar, Mahadev Shinde, who works as a driver of a private vehicle, said, “I don’t think anybody cares about us. A week after the floods, no official has asked me about my house.”

Shinde added, “I am wearing a single pair of clothes for the last eight days, as everything that I owned has been washed away. I am still thinking about where I should live now.

While around 60-70 houses in the area were affected by the flash floods, around four to five houses have totally been washed away. Those affected have temporarily been given shelter at the Annabhau Sathe Auditorium in Padmavati.

PMC’s rehabilitation plan

• Additional Commissioner of PMC Rubal Agarwal has stated that the Corporation has been collaborating with the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and the Revenue Department. “We have recently conducted a meeting with both the departments, wherein we have asked the SRA to conduct a survey to see how many people can be accommodated in their schemes or transit programmes, or if they can be provided with rent until a housing arrangement is made for them,” Agarwal said.
• Apart from that, she also added that some of the affected people could be accommodated under the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) programme. “We have a few flats under BSUP in Hadapsar where rehabilitation can be done. Also, we identified nine people who have their own plots, but their houses were washed away. These people will be provided compensation of Rs 95,000 each by the Revenue Department,” Agarwal said.

Need for new homes

• “I have personally visited these flood-affected areas, and I agree that several houses are too dangerous to live in,” said Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram.
• District Collector  added that since these are notified in the records of SRA and PMC, the SRA and Corporation are the direct authorities responsible for providing houses to the affected people. We will also coordinate with them to see the work through.