Priyanka seeks urgent rehabilitation of Vaniyampuzha tribal famil

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MP, has asked that permanent rehabilitation for Vaniyampuzha tribal families displaced by the 2019 floods be treated as a priority after meeting residents at Munderi in Pothukal panchayat on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) afternoon.

Residents seek faster house construction

Ms. Vadra met residents of the Vaniyampuzha tribal hamlet and heard their demand that construction of houses be expedited for families who had already received land.

The residents also sought electricity connections to the settlement.

The demand comes from families who have remained without permanent homes since the August 2019 floods destroyed their houses.

Twenty-six Paniya families have been living in makeshift tarpaulin shelters in the forest since then.

The settlement lies across the Chaliyar river.

Human rights panel had intervened

The issue came under the attention of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission after a report published in The Hindu on September 11 on the living conditions of the families.

The Commission registered a suo motu case and directed the authorities to urgently rehabilitate the affected families.

It noted that the families had remained in temporary shelters for years without permanent rehabilitation.

The Commission also expressed concern over the lack of basic facilities.

It said the situation affected the families’ right to live with dignity and access safe housing.

Visit also covered elephant attack victim’s house

During her visit, Ms. Vadra also went to the house of Billy, who was killed in a wild elephant attack last year.

P.V. Abdul Wahab, MP, and Aryadan Shoukath, MLA, accompanied Ms. Vadra during the visit.

The visit placed renewed public attention on the unresolved rehabilitation of the Vaniyampuzha families, whose housing and basic facility demands had already been taken up by the State Human Rights Commission.

Published - September 23, 2026 08:29 pm IST.

Source: The Hindu