Mangaluru, Jun 29: Normally politicians and “representatives” arrive at the doorsteps of the common man when elections are looming close and make several assurances which are forgotten soon after. In contrast, here is an example of one councillor in Ullal who came forward to fulfill his special assurance to a poverty stricken family.
Having assured a poor family living on the street of building a house for them two years ago, Councillor Usman Kallapu, who represents Babbukatte area in Ullal City Municipal Council, was successful in constructing one.
While campaigning for the Ullal CMC elections as a Congress candidate, Usman encountered a family stricken with poverty living in a ramshackle hut, where a man named Sundara Moolya was lying on a mat while his wife Padmavathi and two daughters were lamenting this condition seated in a corner.
Usman assured the family of building a small concrete house for them, and initiated the construction even before the results of the elections were announced.
True to his word, a concrete house on a slightly elevated land in Sevantigudda was constructed by the local councillor and other friends who pitched in by providing additional funds and helping in some of the labour work during the construction.
At present, the house built at a cost of Rs 6 lakh has been completed with only the electric works pending in the structure. It is learnt that the family of Padmavathi will be able to move into their new house once all the works are completed within a few days.
Councillor Usman said that the house would be officially handed over to the family by the minister after the electricity connection was provided in a few days' time. He said that he was trying his best to obtain a title deed for the house in the name of Padmavathi.
Padmavati said that the family had been living in the dark without electricity for the past 40 years and they were unable to avail any benefits from the government since the title deed for their house was in the name of her grandmother. She said that she wished to provide both her daughters with a good education.
Rajiv, a local resident, who knew the beneficiary for many years, said that Councillor Usman has set an example in this communally sensitive area. “It is not the responsibility of a councillor to construct a house. But he just fulfilled his promise. Being a Muslim, he constructed a house for a poor Hindu family. This is indeed praiseworthy,” he said.
Under-construction house (left) and Sundara Moolya's old hut (right).
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