Navi Mumbai: The wait for homes for Irshalwadi landslide victims to get over soon as the construction of their homes have neared completion and are expected to be finished by this month end. July last year, amid incessant rainfall, a landslide at Irshalwadi in Raigad district caused death of 29 people and at least 84 individuals were buried under the rubble.
The hamlet where lived 228 tribals, was completely destroyed in a matter of seconds. “I stayed towards the lower area of the mountain and hence when the landslide started from the above, we got to know about it and got time to run out and save our lives. But members from our extended families, just vanished in seconds,” Ganpat Pardhi (29), a resident of Irshalwadi, said.
Since last one year the people who survived the tragedy have been residing in temporary container homes provided by the state government at Chowk village in Khalapur. Later, a 2.6-hectare plot in Nanivali village close to Morbe dam was allocated for the rehabilitation project. The project that cost Rs 30 crore, was handed over to CIDCO.
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Tenders for 44 houses, each costing ₹25 lakh, were issued in September last year. “We are the finishing phase of the project and by July end the houses would be ready after which it would be handed over,” an Engineer from CIDCO, said.
The plot wherein the project is being made belonged to the government and is a flat land at the foot of the mountain that faced landslide. “We are building the basic infrastructure with essential amenities,” the officer from CIDCO added. The land wherein the houses have been constructed is having a protection wall of around nine metres around the land.
After the completion, the houses would be handed over to the Raigad Collector who would then hand it over to the victims. “Since one year we have been living in uncertainty and financial problems. Our demand on getting jobs from the government has also not been met yet. We hope, after the house, government then focuses on jobs for us,” Pardhi added.
