For over 20 days, Gandhi Nagar slum residents have been living in the debris of their homes brought down as part of the slum eviction drive in Chennai.
“Appa it’s cold, we are lying on stones and it is hurting my back. Please do something we need to sleep at least today,” Karna, a resident of Gandhi Nagar slum, recalls the feeble voice of his 13-year-old child. . In pitch darkness with the River Cooum in the background, Karna and his three children along with 190 families are sleeping on the debris of their homes brought down in Gandhi Nagar as part of the slum eviction drive carried out 20 days ago.
On December 9, the Chennai Corporation brought down several hundred homes of slum dwellers in Gandhi Nagar near Island Grounds in Chennai. The evicted families were soon allotted a home in Perumbakkam, 30 kms away from city limits. However, fewer employment opportunities and lack of educational institutions have forced the families to protest seeking a resettlement within Chennai city limits.
On the day of eviction, the families entered the sewage waters of Cooum river and stood for five hours in protest to amplify their demands. On the same day, film director Pa Ranjith reached the spot and expressed his support. However, the officials are yet to visit the protesters, and the suffering of agitators and their children bearing the cold and residing in the debris of Gandhi Nagar continues.
Living amidst the debris
After Chennai Corporation evicted the residents of Gandhi Nagar, many of them went to their allotted homes in Perumbakkam but 190 families including that of Karna set up makeshift huts on the debris and are continuing to sleep on the gravel.
Karna says, “We cook the meals on debris and sleep on the ground in the cold. The officials have not come to meet us yet. However, we are determined that we do not want to go to Perumbakkam.”
Karna works as a contract manual scavenger for a private firm and he is the sole breadwinner of his family. His aim as a father is to educate his children but thinking of a life in the resettlement colonies of Perumbakkam makes him uneasy due to the fear that his children may suffer as they do not have a school nearby. Karna worries over the mental and physical health since the children will be forced to travel several kilometres every day to reach their schools in the city.
Karna says, “Moving to Perumbakkam will mean that we need to leave our children under their own care. However, in Gandhi Nagar, I can go for work and come back during the time of emergency.”
The residents of Gandhi Nagar also feel secure there. Karna says, “We have been in Gandhi Nagar for the past 40 years and we have created a safety net among our residents. However, we are hearing about the menace of drugs and we are scared.”
Like Karna’s family, most of them are daily wage workers who work as manual scavengers, construction labourers and auto drivers. Another daily wage labourer Dharani* says, “Perumbakkam is surrounded by IT companies and we do not see any job opportunities. We earn a monthly living of Rs 8,000 and if we agree to get resettled at Perumbakkam then we cannot spend Rs 150 for our travel every day. We cannot spend Rs 100 every day on our food. We are hardworking labourers so we cannot skip our meals and feed our children.”
Karna adds, “I will continue to protest with my children in the rain and cold to feed my children thrice a day in the city. We need a home within city limits.”
*Names changed on request
Source: The News Minute