Socio-cultural Processes and Livelihood Patterns at Tirurangadi - CDS

are exhausted. In the form discussed above, will have no other choice other then returning
to gulf. There are of course, a few who are resourceful enough to start a business in the
gulf, and those who have done so, entrust the business to their children. Very few of the
people who have returned are setting up their own business at home. Most of them were
unskilled laborers before and remain so after their stint in the gulf, and hence they are not
in a position to start anything useful. The other alternative for many of them is to invest
in partnership enterprises, which will be run by an enterprising partner, who may or may
not be a gulf returnee. There are of course a few gulf returnees who have learnt a trade in
the gulf and are using it to their benefit, but those who are idle are far greater in number.
Table LXVIII
Residential houses according to their type of roof
Panchayat Concrete Tiles/Asbestos Thatched/others Total
Munniyur 2953 4183 852 7988
Nannambra 1837 1761 1239 4837
Thenhippalam 3775 4945 2443 11163
Tirurangadi 4570 5120 1733 11423
Vallikkunnu 1958 2200 2785 6943
Parappanangadi 0 0 0 0
Total 15093 18209 9052 42354
The above table shows that about 35.64% of the total number of houses has become
concrete houses, and Nannambra, a rural area with clear Gulf influence has more
concrete houses than tiled houses. The amount of construction activities now going on
have probably rendered these figures out of date, and concrete houses have overtaken
tiled houses in almost all the Panchayats. The other major population segments that can
indulge in similar construction are the middle class employees and the traders. The
impact of traders is visible in Tirurangadi. Still, the construction activities going on in
Nannambra, not a major trade area in the region, and at the same time have experienced