The Hindu : National : House with independent access his dream

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 22, 2005

National

National

House with independent access his dream

Staff Reporter

We are poor people and the offer of a little additional money was a great thing for my son, says the father

Maniappan

ALAPPUZHA: It was the dream of purchasing a few cents of land to build a house with proper access that prompted Ramankutty Maniappan, a member of the Border Roads Organisation who was kidnapped by the Taliban on Monday, to accept the offer of his seniors to go to Afghanistan despite the risks.

`We are poor people and the offer of a little additional money for working in a foreign country was a great thing for my son,' Ramankutty, father of Mr. Maniappan, told The Hindu , at Puthenvettil Thekkethil house, his ancestral home at Vembuzha in Chingoli panchayat in Alappuzha district. The home is situated in a waterlogged area close to the Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project of the NTPC at Choolatheruvu.

One has to walk through the premises of various houses to reach Mr. Maniappan's home. Almost all the people in the locality are poor coir workers, fishermen and agricultural labourers. There are no walls separating the compounds of houses.

Asokan, a childhood friend, sitting in the temporary shed built in front of Mr. Maniappan's home said he is a simple person with simple dreams. When he visited the village six months back, he told him he wanted to build a house with access to a road. Ramankutty did dredging work in the Kayamkulam lake nearby. Maniamma, the mother was a coir worker. Both parents are too old to work.

Mr. Ramankutty said Mr. Maniappan is his only child and the sole breadwinner. The BRO worker has two children, the elder son Ajay is a third standard student at Bethany Balika Madhom Lower Primary School at nearby Nangiarkulamgara. The younger one Akshay is about three years old.

The mother recalled that it was around 4 p.m. on Sunday that somebody from the BRO conveyed the message over telephone. She did not realise the gravity of the situation. It was another call that came from the home of the daughter-in-law minutes later that made them realise the danger her son was in, she said.

Mr. Ramankutty said his son had been working in the Border Roads Organisation for more than 12 years and went to Afghanisthan on November 8. It was the first time that he had gone outside the country, he said. He had made a call to his wife from there once, said Ms. Maniamma.

The whole neighbourhood, relatives and friends had assembled in the Puthenveetil Thekkethil house to sympathise with the family.

Mr. Ramankutty said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala had telephoned them and offered all help to get Mr. Maniappan released.

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