Puttur: Progress and development that has been happening around seems to be making no sense to the people living in Arthipadau Mayila and Kanakadas SC/ST colonies of Balnad in Puttur taluk. How would it make sense, when they have been living in miserable conditions, devoid of basic facilities?

The colony of the Mayila community situated 8km away from Balnad at Arthipadau consists of eight families. Without title deeds, toilets, electricity, drinking water facility, roads and even a pukka house to live in, the lives of the eight families, who claim that their ancestors settled on the said land 300 years ago, is in limbo.

The only mistake they have done is that they have settled on a land that belongs to forest department and that they do not have any proper document to establish their rights.

Four houses in the colony have a road connectivity while rest of them walk thorugh a narrow road. Though water connectivity was promised to them, only four houses were given connections. The broken pipes in some of the places have also not been repaired, said one of the residents Ravi adding that summers make no difference to them because pots run dry almost everyday.

One of the houses in the colony has collapsed and family has moved into some other place. Garbage too lies in the area unattended and cleanliness has only remained to be a hope.

Meanwhile, 2kms away from Puttur town live16 families in a colony named Kanakadas colony. Their problems too are same as the previous colony.

Rekha J Shetty, president of Town council said, “The four houses in Mayila lack title deeds which will be delivered through the revenue department. In Kanakadas colony 16 houses do not have title deeds, as it is a private land and we will look into the issue.”

The wait of the residents of the two colonies continue.