Marooned in a sanctuary

Rosemala in Kulathupuzha panchayat of Kollam district of Kerala lies on the Western Ghats covered in greenery. But greenery could be deceptive.

Once, even summer mornings brought fog to this area. Now mist is a rarity. Water becomes scarce in summer.

Rosemala is a pocket inside the Shenduruney Wildlife Sanctuary forming part of the Agastyakoodam Biosphere Reserve. About a century back, the British had cleared the forests there to plant tea and cardamom. When Britons left, it fell into the hands of a landlord. The government took over much of those lands as excess land under 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 are left as the others went away because of the harsh life there. About 100 of these families belong to the Scheduled Caste and one to Scheduled Tribes.

This summer has been harsh on them. Wells are drying up. So, too are the crops. In fact, cultivation of traditional crops such as cloves and Chinese potato had become difficult with changing weather. Many had shifted to rubber, but the trees have not yet started yielding. As to other crops, elephants and other wild animals from the Sanctuary are always a threat.

93-year old Satyanandan and ‘younger’ wife Pankajakshy (76) had come to the hill area 36 years ago. “We wanted to leave, but could not. There are no buyers for our land.”

Satyanandan recalls that water shortages had started following a flood in 1992. “After the floods, water from even newly dug wells just vanishes overnight,” he says. Apparently, the water table has gone down in the area for whatever reasons, affecting agriculture and availability of drinking water. Streams have dry up early in summer. Ultimately, this may affect storage at Thenmala Irrigation Dam downstream as Rosemala is its catchment.

The problems do not end there. There is no medical facility. The nearest government hospital is at Kulathupuzha, about 30 km from Rosemala. A team of medical staff from the hospital at Kulathupuzha visit 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. The nearest main road is about 12 km away at Aryankavu on the border to Tamil Nadu.

“Development is yet to reach our place,” laments political worker Ajayan whose family had settled here when he was four years old. Now at 47, he also wants to leave Rosemala if the chance arises.

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 scheme to resettle them elsewhere with Central funding, a wildlife official said.

Electricity is yet to reach the village. Though former State Minister K. B. Ganeshkumar had promised to meet the compensation payable to Forest Department for drawing the line through the forests, it is said that the local member of Assembly had objected to that. Mr. Ajayan, who works for the Left Democratic Front, says he is still working for the same member as he had 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.  However, their voices count less now, as the number of voters at Rosemala has come down to about 750 from around 1200.

(With inputs and photos from G. Rajkumar)