E-Paper
Man who lost roof in cyclone gets help now
Weeks after Cyclone Nisarga that swept away the roof and door of the house of a 40-year-old physically challenged man in Humgaon, a village in Karjat taluka, he finally received help to repair his house.
Weeks after Cyclone Nisarga that hit Humgaon, a village in Karjat taluka, around 56 kilometres away from Kalyan, and swept away the roof and door of the house of a 40-year-old physically challenged man, the man received help to repair his house. After a video went viral on social media, Kalyan rural team of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) reached out and helped the man with repairs.
Cyclone Nisarga had made its landfall around 100 km south of Alibaug, a resort town in the coastal district of Raigad, on June 3. The cyclone had also impacted Margaon, Khopoli and Karjat where trees were uprooted and electric lines were damaged.
“The wind destroyed my house. It blew off the roof and damaged the door. I had approached the gram panchayat several times, but did not get any help. People visited my house and assured me of help, but nothing was done all these weeks,” said Ananta (Anna) Katkari, the sole resident of the house.
Maruti Badge, 65, a retired teacher who lives nearby, shot a video of the house seeking help and posted it on social media. Badge, in the video, also claimed that the man is the son of late Ramu Maniya Katkari, a soldier.
“I have known the family for a long time and was saddened to see the state of a soldier’s son. He lives alone in the house. His brother who lives nearby and other residents give him food regularly. I felt bad as he was living in the house without any roof and door even amid rain,” said Bagde.
The video showed the house without a roof and door while the floor was flooded with rain water. All of Katkati’s belongings were also drenched in water.
“He is physically challenged and has no work to do. He had been seeking help from the authorities but nobody paid any heed. So, I decided to shoot a video and post it on social media so that someone comes forward to help him,” added Bagde.
As the video went viral on social media, members of MNS’s Kalyan rural unit came across it and contacted the teacher. “I saw the video and thought of visiting the place to see the condition. The house was completely damaged with no roof and the man was staying inside even during rain. We decided to help him out with the roof and the door. We have also asked the workers to clean the house so that we can places tiles and some basic appliances like bulb and fan,” said Ashwin Bhoir, president of MNS’s Kalyan rural unit.
“The village is in a remote place and falls under gram panchayat rule. When we asked the sarpanch about why the house was not repaired, they cited lack of funds,” added Bhoir.
A representative of the gram panchayat on condition of anonymity said, “We had visited the house and were looking for social groups to come forward to help as we could not take up the work due to lack of funds.”
Vikram Deshmukhm, tehsildar of Karjat taluka, said, “Followed by Cyclone Nisarga, a survey was carried out about losses in the taluka. Those who suffered losses were provided with money in their accounts. We have distributed around ₹3.5 crore. We will check the list and look into this particular case of the Katkari family. If they need help, we will do the needful at the earliest.”
