80-year-old expatriate donates an acre to shelter 20 families
PALAKKAD: For V V Balakrishnan, an 80-year-old from Chalissery in Palakkad, the decision to donate an acre of land to shelter 20 families was not made on a whim – it was shaped by a lifetime of personal trials and deeply moving experiences.
'I was born and raised on a land that did not belong to us,' he recalls. 'The insecurity of not having a place to call home was something I lived with throughout my early life.' After serving 15 years in the Indian Air Force and spending 19 years in Bahrain, Balakrishnan returned to a heartbreaking sight in his village – a family demolishing a portion of their own modest house to make space for a burial, as they did not have any other land to call their own.
'That moment stayed with me. It showed me just how crucial it is to have a piece of land – your own space, your own shelter,' he said. It was these experiences that fuelled his decision to donate an entire acre to the Thirumittacode grama panchayat as part of the Kerala government's 'Manassodithiri Mannu' campaign.
'Each of the 20 beneficiaries was given a three-cent plot of the one-acre land, located in Vadakke Cherippur in Velladikkunnu ward of the Thirumittacode panchayat, during a function held on Sunday. The remaining portion of the land will be used to build a common road, an anganwadi (childcare centre), a day-care home for the elderly, a drinking water project and a waste treatment plant for the residents,' Zuhara T, panchayat president, told TNIE.
The official land distribution ceremony was inaugurated by Minister for Local Self-Governments M B Rajesh at a function held at the Thirumittacode Cooperative Bank Hall. Speaking at the event, the minister lauded Balakrishnan's generosity and noted how the campaign is bringing together citizens and the government for a shared purpose -- dignified housing for all.
'Balakrishnan's story is not just one of generosity, but of empathy, resilience, and the belief that no one should be denied the basic right to a home,' the minister said.
Balakrishnan's wife Remadevi participated in the ceremony as well.
The panchayat president presided over the ceremony. District panchayat member Anu Vinod, panchayat vice-president C M Manomohan, and standing committee chairpersons P S Suresh Babu, V R Reshma, Radhika Ratheesh, Greeshma Anil Kumar, along with other panchayat members and political representatives, were present.
'As these families begin life on the land I once owned, I wish them all the very best. Everyone deserves a place to belong,' said Balakrishnan, who has served as the president of the Chalissery Service Cooperative Bank for many years.
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