Belthangady: After their plight was reported in newskarnataka.com and newskannada.com, some instant action from the local administration supported by ZP CEO to build a dwelling for Kunda Koraga was taken. Now that the funds have been arranged to construct a house for them, a political slug-fest seems to have kicked off and with local MLA being raged, the possibility of Kundu Koraga and family getting a dwelling is something to be waited and watched for.

Kunda Koraga, his brother Babu and sister Chandravathi have been living in a dilapidated shanty over the last several years here and nobody ever came to help them come out of the plight that they have been living in. Coolie workers, living on income earned by knitting basket, these poverty-stricken siblings could not even get married because of their plight. Ironically, while the village has been declared ‘open defecation free’, Kunda Koraga’s house does not have a toilet. Talk of rights of the citizens, apart from voting right; this family enjoys no other rights.

When media highlighted the family’s problem, the local Panchayat representatives, officials along with officials from the social welfare department visited them and prepared a blueprint and laid a foundation stone for a new house.

The Panchayat, where the BJP is in rule arranged two lakh rupees from its funds and other two lakhs from the public for the completing the project. They were on the verge of depositing four lakh rupees in the Koraga family bank account! Then the construction was handed over to ITDP who too prepared a separate construction plan.

But, when the ZP member from the constituency, a Congress man came to know of this, he raked up the issue stating that all of the developments had happened without him being intimated. He then took up the matter with the local MLA Vasanth Bangera, who is said to have directed authorities concerned to stop the work.The ZP member had urged the MLA to take action against Charmadi GP and the logic is that if the local GP succeeds in building the house for this Koraga family, the BJP would walk away with the credit garnering political mileage.

However, the ZP CEO has said that there is question of withholding the work. The only thing that remains now is, who will bell the cat first to solve the problem of poor Koraga family, failing which the cup may slip from its hands.