This man has been living on a mango tree for two years

Tree houses sound romantic, but for a tribal man in Mysuru, it is what he calls home. With no money to build a house or rent one and with no support from local authorities, the man has been living on a mango tree for the last two years.

Gajja, who belongs to the Jenu Kuruba tribe, had been residing in a hut for more than 50 years at Malaganakere haadi in Naviluru village, Periyapatna taluk. He was, however, rendered homeless when forest officials pulled down his tent. They also dug a trench and put up solar fencing restricting the movement of 24 families, including Gajja. With nowhere else to go and no money, Gajja started living on a mango tree planted by his grandfather on his field.

The New Indian Express reports that Gajja used some bamboo shoots and created a shelter for himself on the tree that is 40-feet high. He cooks food before sunset and goes back up to his shelter to protect himself from wild animals and elephants. 

His wife Shobha works as a maid and stays with her landlord since she cannot climb the tree. His older son Kulla is married and works in a nearby estate and the second son is a student at an Ashram school. When his son comes home, he too has to stay on the tree.

Village headman Rajaiah told the New Indian Express that the haadi does not have basic facilities and the forest officials do not care. The government had promised to give them half an acre of land but have not done so. 

Gajja says that he had faced near death situations when elephants pulled at the branches of the mango tree. 

The Deputy Commissioner of the district said that the district administration was not aware of the houseless tribal living on the tree. He said the assistant commissioner and the tribal development officer would be sent to the haadi and they will try to rehabilitate the Jenu Kuruba tribal people. 
 

• Man lives
• on Mango tree
• Two years