Rebuilt homes in Kodagu handed to beneficiaries

During the devastating floods that hit Kerala and Karnataka last year, in the Kodagu district of ­Karnataka “more than 3,500 hectares were devastated due to landslides, damaging about 2,500 km of roads and rendering over 1,000 families homeless, as their homes had been destroyed,” says PDG K Ravi Appaji, RID 3181.

Under the leadership of DG P ­Rohinath, and Appaji, who was designated Project Chairman of Rebuilding Kodagu, and DRFC PDG K Krishna Shetty, Rotarians of District 3181 came together to rebuild homes for the homeless. “With help from PRIP Kalyan Banerjee and RID C Basker, we signed an MOU with Habitat for Humanity India to build 25 homes in the first phase at Rs 5 lakh per home. The total cost of the project is Rs 1.26 crore,” he says

For the first phase, 25 beneficiaries who had ownership of the land were chosen in Madapur village, 12 km from Madikeri, as it had suffered intensive damage due to rains. Bhoomi pooja was done on Feb 14, construction started on Mar 28 and on June 18, just three months later, the homes were completed and handed over to the beneficiaries by PRIP Kalyan Banerjee.

Dedicating the homes to the beneficiaries, Banerjee complimented the Rotarians for doing a fine job and building homes with a foundation strong enough to enable them to add one more storey later. He thanked ­Habitat for Humanity India and promised his help and support in building more homes for the flood-ravaged. “A home always brings hope, stability and comfort to the family, and ensures that after a natural disaster the affected people can carry on with their lives,” he said.

DG Rohinath, PDGs Appaji, Krishna Shetty, RID 3182 DG ­Abhinandan Shetty, Rajan Samuel, MD Habitat, DGE Joseph Mathew, DGN M ­Ranganath Bhat and RC Bangalore Orchards President D ­Ravishankar were present at the event.