Chhatrapur: With the prospect of having accommodations under government housing schemes getting slimmer, four scheduled caste families of Podapadar village under this block in Ganjam district have made a cremation ground their homes.
The families of Amar Nayak, Kaibalya Nayak, Indu Nayak and S Gita have been living here for several years under the sheds made from polythene sheets, according to a report.
Though they have not lost hope of receiving a house each under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), their attempts have not yielded any result so far.
They somehow manage to lead life under the polythene sheet sheds in summer and winter but it is getting increasingly difficult to adjust in rainy season, said Amar Nayak, adding, they get inundated by rain water.
“We have met the block development officer (BDO) Banshidhar Khosla on several occasions and requested houses under PMAY. But the administration is yet to look into our problems,” said Indu Nayak.
Meanwhile, the administration is learnt to have decided to rehabilitate the families at some other places instead of the cremation ground of the village.
Members of all these families mostly work as daily labourers. They also make brooms to supplement their family income.
They sell brooms at the weekly market in Chhatrapur and by some means manage to run their families, it was learnt. Each family can produce seven to eight numbers of brooms a day.
However, the decreasing number of date trees in nearby areas has adversely affected their livelihood, said S Gita. She requested the administration to include the families under any housing project of the government. PNN