Madikeri/ Mysuru: The over 423 houses that were promised in the first phase of rehabilitation project that has been completed at Jamboor and Katakeri by Nirmithi Kendra are yet to be handed over to the 2018 flood victims.

The houses have been fully completed and are awaiting the arrival of a VVIP to be handed over to the flood victims. Of the 423 houses, 318 have been built at Jamboor and 280 of them have been completed with all facilities including roads, water and electricity. 70 houses have been constructed at Katakeri.

Each house has been built with pre-cast concrete. Rs. 9.80 lakh has been spent on each house and the areas that have been identified to build houses are certified by Geological Survey of India (GSI) as flood-and-landslide-proof. Each concrete mould house has been designed according to ‘M-20 Grade Design’ and the built area is 425 square feet.

Modern techniques have been used to build the houses and each house has 2 bedrooms, a hall and a kitchen. The houses are fire and earthquake-resistant and have all the modern facilities. Sources in Kodagu District Administration told ‘Star of Mysore’ that Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa will visit Kodagu on May 29 and a decision will be taken to arrange an event to hand over the houses. However, the authorities are awaiting confirmation from the CM’s Office.

Regarding the second phase of the house rebuilding works where there is a target of building 412 houses, officials said that the project has been hampered by COVID-19. “Most of the migrant construction workers have left Kodagu to their native villages in other States and there is a workforce shortage to take up the house construction works at this juncture. Hopefully, the situation will ease in the near future,” officials said.