Rasaq, who owns a teashop in Rosemala, is the only person there whose well hasn’t dried up. “In another week, about 200 families will be without water, if it doesn’t rain,” said Rasaq.
Rosemala, situated within Kulathupuzha panchayat of Kollam district of Kerala, is a sanctuary on the Western Ghats covered in a deceptive green. Once, even summer mornings brought fog to this area. Now mist is rare and water is scarce. Rasaq explains that rain in the afternoons, which used to be a frequent summer phenomenon, is missing now.
Rosemala is a pocket inside the Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary, which forms part of the Agastyakoodam Biosphere Reserve. About a century back, the British had cleared the forests there to plant tea and cardamom. When the British left, it fell into the hands of a landlord. The government took over much of those lands as excess land under the Land Reforms Act in the sixties. These were distributed to the poor.
At that time, around 400 families used to live there. Now only 240 families continue to reside here as the others left, unable to cope with the harsh life. About 100 of these families belong to the Scheduled Caste and one to Scheduled Tribes.
Drying wells, failing crops
This summer has been harsh on the residents of Rosemala. Wells are drying up. So, too are crops. Cultivation of traditional crops such as cloves and Chinese potato had become difficult with changing weather patterns in the past few years. Many had shifted to rubber, but they are yet to see any yield. Elephants and other wild animals from the sanctuary pose a threat to any other crop.
Rosemala is in an area that had never seen water shortages in the past century. Marshes at higher altitudes in the Ghats, forests and grasslands have always ensured a perennial supply of water in the area. Ninety three-year old Satyanandan and his wife Pankajakshy (76) had come to the hill area 36 years ago. Satyanandan recalls how water shortages started after a flood in 1992. “After the floods, water from even newly dug wells just vanishes overnight,” he said.
Forest destruction
This summer, streams have dried up early. Storage at the Thenmala Irrigation Dam downstream is now a concern since Rosemala is its catchment area. The landslips that accompanied the flood brought down mud and sand, choking the Kallada river that flows into the dam. This too affected the natural flow of the river, as it sought a new course during the rainy season – trees were uprooted and the forests destroyed in the process.
With the water shortage at hand, there is also a worry of what Rosemala's residents will do if they have to contend it with dehydration and heat stroke. The nearest government hospital is at Kulathupuzha, about 30 km from Rosemala. A team of medical staff from the hospital at Kulathupuzha visits Rosemala once in a few months. “It is two months now (since their last visit), there is no sign of them,” says Pankajakshy.
But for a bus service with a single schedule, jeeps with four-wheel drive are the only way to reach Rosemala. A medical emergency will need at least Rs 500 to move the patient from Rosemala to Kulathupuzha, precious money that these families do not have. The nearest main road is about 12 km away at Aryankavu on the border to Tamil Nadu.
Deserted without development
“Development is yet to reach our place,” lamented political worker Ajayan whose family had settled here when he was four years old. Now at 47, he too wants to leave Rosemala.
The only project that is on the anvil at Rosemala is an ecotourism project by the Forest Department. It may benefit a few locals. However, if the locals voluntarily opt for it, the Department can draw up a scheme to resettle them elsewhere with Central funding, a wildlife official said.
Electricity is yet to reach the village. Though former Kerala state minister KB Ganeshkumar had promised to meet the compensation payable to Forest Department for drawing the power lines through the forests, it is said that the local member of Assembly had objected to that. Ajayan, who works for the Left Democratic Front, says he is still working for the same MLA, as he has no other option.
People’s representatives rarely visit Rosemala. However, they will make one visit for sure in five years ‒ during election time. This is one such time and the locals are waiting to unleash their complaints. Their voices, though, count less now. The number of voters at Rosemala has come down to about 750 from around 1200.
Marooned in this wildlife sanctuary Satyanandan said, “We wanted to leave, but could not. There are no buyers for our land.”
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