Periyapatna:  Even as Union and State Governments are spending a lot of money for tribal welfare, the condition of tribals living at Boranakatte Girijan hamlet in the forest bordering the taluk, is left much to be desired.

The hamlet has a population of more than 350 tribals, with almost all of them belonging to Jenukuruba tribal sect.

The Karnataka Land Army, a State-owned construction organisation, had built 12 houses in the hamlet about 45 years ago. But these houses are beginning to crack due to the vagaries of weather and more so due to the incessant rains that has been lashing this part of the taluk for the past 20 days.

As some of the houses collapsed, unable to withstand incessant rains and storm, the homeless tribals petitioned the Taluk Social Welfare Officer, Malangi PDO (Panchayat Development Officer) and Periyapatna Tahsildar seeking alternative housing, following which the Social Welfare and Revenue Department officials visited the spot and assured the tribals of rehabilitation. But so far, no engineer nor any official has turned up at the hamlet, according to some of the hamlet inhabitants.

While most of the houses in the hamlet are damaged, some others have managed to withstand the weather. The inhabitants of the damaged houses are finding it extremely difficult to store grains and other households, as most of the houses are directly exposed to the weather with tiled/ sheet roofs coming apart due to strong winds.

Adding to their woes, most of the house do not have power connections and most of the solar streetlights have become non-functional.

The tribals are also facing sanitation problems, as there are no toilet facilities. Although the jurisdictional Gram Panchayat started excavating earth for laying the foundation for toilets, it has been left incomplete for six months now. Even the Forest Officials have turned a blind eye to the elephant trench, which has now become almost fully covered up due to poor   maintenance.

As the trenches are almost covered up with the passage of time, tuskers, wild boars and other wild animals stray into the maize field, destroying standing crop. The concrete road that connects the hamlet with other link roads, too has become deteriorated, with potholes found everywhere. With living every movement in fear and anxiety, the tribals have urged the authorities to provide rehabilitation to them so that they can live happily without fear.