I don’t want to return to the place that took away my family: Survivor of Taliye disaster

Only those who have undergone suffering can understand the pain of othersrdquo said Sunil Shiravale who last week travelled 150 kilometres from Mahad to Chouk in Khalapur tehsil to meet the survivors of Irsalwadi landslide in their makeshift containers The 34yearold lost 12 family members in the Taliye landslide of June 22 2021 ldquoEk haat madaticha daradgrast Taliye Varcha Aawad a helping hand to landslide survivors from Taliye residents is embossed on the back of the white Tshirt he gifted themThe July landslide at Irsalwadi has opened up a wound that Shiravale thought had healedTwo years on the ramifications of the catastrophic landslide that took 88 lives in 2021 are still clearly visible at Taliye in Mahad taluka of Raigad district Originally called Baudhwadi nearly 200 people once resided here in 43 houses at the bottom of Duruk hill thatrsquos crowned by the Janani Mata temple Many of the residents have lived in the same home for over three generationsThe Duruk hill overlooks a row of new structures built by MHADA The model of a home for rehabilitated residents Taliye residents now live in makeshift containers metres away from the newly constructed houses which are yet to receive finishing touches and be fitted with amenitiesToday as one enters the Wadi fragments of the settlement stray steel utensils cupboard doors a cradle protrude out of the 20feet debris that swallowed the entire village burying adults and children alive within minutes The catastrophe also put an end to trips to pay obeisance to Janani MataWe wonrsquot forget that eveningrdquo says Baban Sakpal ldquoIt had been raining endlessly for three consecutive days and the Savitri river was overflowing Every place was waterlogged There was no power supply or mobile networkrdquo The septuagenarian was grazing his cattle nearby at 330 pm and though visibility was poor he could sense that rocks were rolling down the nearby Chandmoda hillldquoAs a precautionrdquo he continues ldquomany villagers left their homes and took shelter in the houses at the foot of Duruk praying for safety Within minutes a huge portion of Duruk came crashing obliterating everything in its way The entire village was buriedrdquoLeft Hausabai Khondalkar who was buried under the debris for 17 hours and lost her entire family including three children right Tukaram Kashiram 68 a retired Gujarat police uncle of Sunil Shiravale standing beside the photographs of the 12 members of their family killed in the landslide on July 22 2021Hausabai Chandrakant Khondalkar was among those living at the base of Chanmoda who fled Her husband Chandrakant and their three childrenmdashRushikesh Tanvi and Swarupamdashstood with other villagers near Duruk Hill when a 20foot section of it slid down ldquoI was separated from my children by the impactrdquo she says ldquoI hit my back against a roof and my leg was stuck under the debris I was unable to see anything I tried to scream for help but couldnrsquot hear my own voice I thought my children were with my husband and that I would find them once I was rescuedrdquoThese were her last thoughts as she slipped in and out of consciousness while being pelted continuously by rain At some point a lady pulled her out but she was gone before Hausabai could ask her about her family ldquoIt was late at night and I was still unable to move my legsrdquo she recounts ldquoI remained in that position till 8 am the next dayrdquoWhen the villagers found her before the NDRF and other rescue team could arrive her left leg was injured She was taken to JJ Hospital where she underwent multiple surgeries and was discharged after a monthSantosh Thakur Gram Sanvardhan Samajik SansthaShe was the only one of her family to survive and one of five survivors to be pulled out of the debris alive Of these three passed away during treatment As she waits for a new house Hausabai tries to hold back tears ldquoA house without family is nothing but wallsrdquoTwentytwoyearold Swapnil Shiravale was also pulled out from under the tsunami of soil but did not make it He passed away on August 8 2021 He had celebrated his birthday on July 22 minutes before the landslide and had even helped some villagers shift to his home His brother Sunil who was away at work at MIDC in Mahad is the only surviving member of the large familymdash12 members perished including his 70year old grandfather Tulsira and 10monthold son ParthSwapnilrsquos legs were crushed and though they were amputated the gangrene spread and took his life ldquoAll the time he was in hospitalrdquo remembers Sunil ldquoSwapnil would insist on being taken home and was craving home food He was on saline and no solid food was allowedrdquoSunil Shiravale holding the tshirt which he gifted to Irshalwadi landlside survivorsSunil canrsquot bear to look at Duruk hill ldquoI donrsquot want to return to the place that took away my familyrdquo he says ldquoWhen I heard about Irsalwadi the flashback wouldnrsquot stop Thatrsquos why I met the survivors and we wept togetherrdquoEightyyearold Draupadi Janu Shelar continues to live in her ancestral house located close to the landslidehit area ldquoI am the third generation living in this house and now have to vacate it to move into the new one built for us by MHADA Ours has been declared unsafe and vulnerable due to proximity to the hillrdquoEnvironmentalists say that one of the major causes of landslides is that the trees whose roots hold loose mud together are vanishing due to uncontrolled deforestation afforestation has also halted Without planting of trees on hillsides landslides may be a regular phenomenon leaving communities who have lived here for centuries vulnerableA 75yearold Zilla Parishad school was a casualty Opened in 1946 it was where most children from the nearby wadis studied up to class VII Now a new primary school has been built closer to where the families will be rehabilitatedA 75yearold Zilla Parishad school was another casualty Opened in 1946 it was where most children from the nearby wadis studied up to class VII Now the Zilla Parishad has constructed a new primary school closer to the location where the families will be rehabilitatedBut the houses havenrsquot come up yet Itrsquos been two yearsldquoThere is a delay on part of the state government and local administration to rehabilitate the survivorsrdquo said Santosh Thakur founder of Gram Sanvardhan Samajik Sanstha a NGO that fights for tribal welfare in Raigad district ldquoThe nexus between political henchmen contractors suppliers of building materials and labour contractors is also responsible for the delay The work has been left incomplete work at different stagesrdquoBaban Sakpal Draupadi Janu Shelar Sachin Pandey and Satyajit BadeMeanwhile the survivors at Taliye live in the makeshift containers just metres away from the newly constructed houses ldquoItrsquos been over two yearsrdquo says Milind Gangawane about the MHADA houses ldquobut how can we move into homes that donrsquot have water connection drainage line floors and leaky roofs In the containers we have electricity and water connectionrdquoSachin Pandey has another concern ldquoWhat if they disappear and donrsquot address our problems once we take possession of the houses Thatrsquos why wersquoll move only once all the work is completed The main water storage tank is under construction the water pipelines are not laidhelliprdquoWhen midday visited the area on August 2 construction work was underway Of the 66 houses some had leaky roofs and final finishing tasks were incomplete in others Deep and complex interdependency of multiple agencies such as MHADA ZP the Irrigation department MSEB has stalled plumbing sanitation waterline connections setting up of electric meters and construction of the of water tank that will hold 60000 litres The Occupation Certificate OC for the first phase of the project is also pendingSources in the state government admit that the houses should have been handed over by December 2023 They place the blame on extreme rainfall delay by MHADA in allotting work to contractors local agitations supply chain management issues and logistical hurdles When asked about the defect liability clauses one official responded ldquoThe liability period under MHADA is five years They will attend to any issues with construction and even maintain the sewage collection tanks placed outside the housesrdquoldquoDue to technical and logistical glitches at the site actual construction work was hamperedrdquo is what Maroti R More Chief Officer of MHADA Konkan Board says Since the project site is at a higher altitude trucks loaded with steel and raw construction materials were unable to drive to it ldquoWe had to unload the materials at the baserdquo he says ldquothen reload them on smaller vehicles to take them to the site This included approximately three to five tonnes of steel and sandwich concrete panels for internal and external wallsrdquo He says the first phase comprising 66 houses is ready and awaiting their Occupation Certificates OCs which should arrive in the next few weeks Then the houses will be handed over to the district administration ldquoPhase 2 involves 205 housesrdquo says More before addressing the incomplete works ldquoMinor issues have already been sorted out Two site engineers and the construction staff are handling the complaintsrdquo And what about missing the December 2023 deadline ldquoThe actual work on site only started in November last yearrdquo he says Asked whether they would meet the fresh deadline of September 2023 the chief officer takes a pause to say ldquoOur entire team is working on site to meet the target and we have given the same deadline to all the contractors toordquoldquoWe have set a deadline of August 15 to iron out all the minor complaints in the existing 66 houses so that the survivors can shift to their pakka housesrdquo says Satyajit Bade Additional Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad RaigadHouses not yet homesYogesh MhaseThis is MHADArsquos first rehabilitation project in Raigad district The 271 houses 600 sqft carpet area each are designed as per the national building code to be earthquake and fireresistant and are fitted with solar panels and steel fabricated roofs The structures have been tested for durability by technical teams from VJTI and IITBombayThey are meant for landslide survivors and highrisk villagers The cost of the entire project was estimated to be around R90 crore of which approximately R78 crore was to come from MHADA Konkan Board Towards the remaining R12 crore the Zilla Parishad was to pool in R750 crore and the rest was to come from the Irrigation department and the MSEB The Zilla Parishad funds would go towards construction of a school anganwadi panchayat office community temple gymnasium internal and external roads sewage lines landscaping and beautification and over 100 street lightsDr Yogesh Mhase Raigad District Collector said ldquoThe project missed deadlines after deadlines even after two years of the landslide the survivors are compelled to live in containers even today which is unfortunate The initial plan of my predecessor was to handover the key to the landslide survivors phase 1 has 66 houses on January 26 three days after me taking charge of the district A new deadline was set for April 27 and it was decided to give the keys on May 1 Maharashtra Day even that did not happen and I had to issue two notices under the Disaster Management Act to the concerned agencies for their failure and I hope that if not August 15 they should be completing the entire project by September 2023rdquoWhen asked if he was anticipating similar delay for rehabilitating Irsalwadi survivors the collector replied in negative stating ldquoIn Taliye different departments are involved from construction to putting up internal and external fixtures but in case of Irshalwadi the entire project will be manned by CIDCOrdquo