Hospet: Seeing the appalling condition of houses where the labor families working in the mines and the mine-affected areas are living, Housing, Minorities Welfare, and Vijayanagar District-In-Charge Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan promised to build well-equipped houses for the families there.
After Janata Darshan on Monday, he along with MLA Gaviyappa visited the surrounding areas including BG Camp, KMMI Camp, and PBS Camp of Hospet Taluk, and expressed his displeasure seeing that the families there are living in huts, sheet houses, and mud houses without minimum basic amenities. He instructed officials to explore the possibilities of building houses for them if the mine owners agree to hand over that piece of land to the Slum Development Board which is under the Housing Department, or the chances of acquiring that land to provide houses for them. Any legal hurdle must be solved, he added.
Lakshmi of BG camp, Yamanur, Imam Wali, Mehboobi, and Lakshmi of KMMI camp showed the house where they live to the minister and burst into tears. When it rains, the whole house gets flooded. Four families live in 120 square meters. Besides, there is a menace of snakes and scorpions. The basic facilities like the toilet were not in the area for women. They sought to know how to live there without any facility. The residents appealed to the minister to provide the houses for them as they have been living in the same area for the last 50-60 years. They have to sleep on empty stomachs if they don’t get jobs in the mines.
Later, the minister held a meeting at the deputy commissioner’s office in which the mine owners and officials were present. They discussed the Forest and Environment Department issues and the development of mining-affected areas.
Housing Department Principal Secretary Naveen Raj Singh, MLAs Srinivas and Latha Mallikarjun, Deputy Commissioner Divakar, Additional Deputy Commissioner Anuradha, ZP CEO Sadashiv Prabhu, and others were present.
During the Camp visit, the minister visited the government primary school at Kaariganur and learned that today was the birthday of Fazil, a female student. He immediately arranged for the chocolates and got them distributed through her. He also gave Rs 5,000 as a birthday gift to her.
Zameer Ahmed Khan also personally extended financial help to the ailing men, women, and senior citizens in the camp. He also gave Rs 2 lakh for the development of the Bilal Mosque in Kaariganur.