Promise to evicted families in Chennai falls like house of cards
New Indian ExpressCHENNAI: Bakiyam T, a sweeper at a health clinic, earns Rs 6,000 a month and Rs 4,000 from it goes towards rent. Bakiyam’s back-breaking struggle for the family’s bare subsistence began in August 2022, when 229 families from Mahalakshmi Nagar and Kudusai Pagudhi, located in Manali New Town, were evicted by authorities for construction of a 9m canal. Manali New Town was one of the worst affected areas in the devastating 2015 floods and also the 2021 monsoon floods, prompting the Greater Chennai Corporation to initiate the construction of a 9m canal to mitigate inundation by connecting drains from various places, including Manali New Town, Vichoor and Division 16, to the Kosasthalaiyar River via the canal. Initially, the families were told that they needed to pay `5.5 lakh as the beneficiary contribution to secure housing in the Manali New Town TNUHDB tenements built under the PMAY-HFA/AHP scheme comprising 3,600 units. Recalling the eviction, Santhanalakshmi D, a 39-year-old woman, said, “When we were shifted out, the officials promised us housing within six months for payment of Rs 5.5 lakh.
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