CHENNAI: Entrusted with the job of ensuring the safety of the citizens, the police personnel and their families are living in fear. Reason? Most of the police quarters in the city are in a dilapidated condition. A visit to some of the quarters revealed that the families have been asked to vacate the buildings and move to rented houses till they are allotted new homes.
On September 1, the residents of Kilpauk police quarters woke up to a notice asking them to vacate the building immediately. A lot of worried residents, most in the rank of constables, have not been allotted new houses. “Where will we go? The authorities haven’t assured us about new accommodations after we leave this place.
Even if they provide us with new housing, the safety levels, in terms of construction standards, are equally bad in both the old and new hoses,” said a resident of the quarters on condition of anonymity. A few months ago, an elderly woman, the mother of a constable, sustained injuries after a portion of the ceiling fell on her legs. As a result, their family was allotted a new house. Will the higher officials react only if someone gets injured or worse, questioned the residents?
The mansion site police quarters in Thousand Lights was constructed six decades ago. Considering the age and poor state of the buildings, the residents were asked to vacate and a few families found homes at the nearby Cochin House Complex, comprising 1,036 houses, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin in August 2022. However, this was not an improvement from their previous living condition.
After a chunk of a ceiling fell in March this year and similar other incidents were reported in the Cochin House Complex, some families prefer to sleep in the now empty houses right across the street at the Mansion site quarters. “Some of the families used the mansion site which is right across the street to sleep at night. These are families whose houses’ ceilings and walls have peeled off,” said a resident.
The old police quarters at Nariyankadu, Pudupet, are also on the brink of collapse. Fearful of repercussions, they are hesitant to file complaints. Speaking to TNIE, a senior police officer said, “We have received reports of damages in newly constructed houses. At the same time, we are also working with the government to come up with a plan to relocate families from old buildings to new quarters.”