Basheer at his tea shop at recently opened tea shop at Chooralmala
DH Special Arrangement
Chooralmala, Wayanad: As the 48-year old Thamlik sips hot tea from 63-year Basheer's tea shop at the landslide ravaged Choralmala in Wayanad, the struggles of hundreds of landslide survivors trying to revive their livelihoods came to the fore.
While Basheer somehow managed to reopen his landslide ravaged tea shop and hopes to start earning like he once used to, hopes of a similar revival remain a distant dream for cable TV operator Thamplik. Not only has his business infrastructure crumbled, his customer base is nearly non-existent after the July 30 landslide washed away homes and families.
It was on the 100th day after the tragic disaster that claimed over 350 lives that DH revisited the landslide-ravaged Chooralmala-Mundakkai regions. It continues to wear the look of a battlefield with remains of buildings and rubble littering the area. Survivors pick through the disaster's aftermath in their struggle to earn a livelihood.
Thamlik, who has been in the cable TV business since 1996, had a customer base of around 700, which is now reduced to hardly 70. With no chances of homes coming up in the region anymore, the future remains a big question mark for the Thamlik, who heads a family of four and has a couple of employees in his firm V-Sat cable vision.
Fondly called by people as 'Cable Vapu', Thamlik said, "In cable TV business over 90 percent of investments are on the roads in the form of cables, boosters and poles. Our infrastructure as well as the customer base were washed away in the landslide. There is no chance of reviving the business here anymore as there is little chance for households to come up here. Hence it is nothing but a huge question mark that stares at me about the future," says Thamlik, whose house also became unusable in the landslide.
Even as the state government is now providing Rs. 300 daily, how long will it last and will that suffice to meet the requirements of a family of four, he asks.
Meanwhile, Basheer managed to resume his tea shop at Chooralmala, close to the Bailey bridge. While the region now has little residents, Basheer pins hopes on 'disaster tourism'.
"On holidays there used to be considerable flow of tourists to the region to see the landslide ravaged area. Though it is not a pleasant experience for us, it indeed provides a livelihood option for us," says Basheer, who has been running the tea shop over the last 35 years. Basheer laments over the restriction being imposed by the government on people visiting the region.
Basheer managed to resume his teashop with financial assistance from trader's forums and well wishers.
Only a couple of shops have resumed business at Chooralmala. The families that are now staying either in rented households or accommodations provided by the government are on the verge of going on a stir over the state and centre government's delay in chalking out concrete rehabilitation plans for them even after 100 days.