Hindu families get priority in IUML’s rehab mission

Kozhikode: At a time when communal narratives dominate headlines, the Indian Union Muslim League's (IUML) housing project for Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide survivors in Wayanad the first phase of which will be handed over on Saturday stands out as a gesture of social cohesion and religious amity. Of the 51 houses completed in the first phase, 14 have been allotted to Hindu families, who were given priority without a draw of lots. The decision was taken to to accommodate the applicants from the community in the first phase of the project itself. The remaining 37 beneficiaries, all from the Muslim community, were selected through a draw. "There were 87 applicants from the list of beneficiaries prepared by the state govt who sought inclusion in our housing project. We decided to include the Hindu survivor families in the first phase without a draw because if they were not selected, they would have had to wait until the second phase," said IUML Wayanad district secretary T Mohammed. He added that the decision was taken with the concurrence of all applicants.Mohammed said no applications have so far been received from Christian survivor families but the party expects five to six more applications from Hindu families in the second phase.The houses are being provided to families who opted out of the govt rehabilitation project at Kalpetta township. The IUML is constructing a total of 105 houses in the 11.2 acres of land at Vellithode and while 51 completed houses will be handed over on Saturday, the remaining houses will be completed soon. Each 1,060 sqft house, built on eight cents, has three bedrooms, a kitchen, dining hall, work area and sit-out and a small garden. Interlocked tiled roads have been laid, and water and electricity connections have been provided. The party is also supplying furniture along with the houses.The party had collected Rs 36.5 crore for the project through crowdfunding and has spent Rs 27.6 crore so far. A fresh round of fundraising has been launched to raise the remaining expense needed to meet the remaining expenses. IUML state president Panakkad Sadikkali Shihab Thangal will handover the keys of new houses. IUML national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi will be the chief guests.Before laying the foundation stone for the housing project, Thangal, Kunhalikutty and other leaders visited the nearby Thrikkaipatta Shiva temple on the invitation of temple authorities. Thangal had said it was the unity of people, beyond caste and religion, which aided the efforts to provide solace to landslide survivors.