HIF India to build six houses for landslide-affected families in Wayanad
Mangaluru: In a bid to support families affected by the recent landslides in Wayanad, Mangaluru-based NGO HIF India has launched a project to construct six houses through crowd-funding efforts. The initiative, aimed at providing shelter to those who may not qualify for government rehabilitation schemes due to a lack of documentation, is expected to be completed in four months.
The NGO has already raised around ₹45 lakh from donors, which will be used exclusively for the construction of houses. A private construction company has agreed to build 600 square-foot houses for ₹7.15 lakh each. Applications will soon be invited to select beneficiaries, with priority given to families that cannot access government aid. Local social workers and NGOs will assist in the scrutiny process.
HIF India office-bearers are currently in Wayanad seeking land donations for the construction. Three donors have already come forward, offering plots located between 10 and 25 kilometers from Chooralmala, one of the worst-hit areas in the landslide. The donated land will first be transferred to HIF India through a gift deed, and once construction is complete, it will be handed over to the beneficiaries through another deed.
Farooq, the general secretary of HIF India, highlighted the plight of migrant workers who have lived in Wayanad for years, working primarily in the tourism sector, and have lost everything in the disaster. Many of these workers lack the necessary documents to apply for government housing and are in desperate need of support.
Farooq also said that those with proper documents would eventually receive government rehabilitation and stressed on the need to prioritize undocumented families in this humanitarian effort.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
