MAYILADUTHURAI: A group of transwomen, led by Mayiladuthurai CPM leaders and their transwomen wing, staged a protest in front of the RDO Office on Monday demanding land to stay.
A CPM wing representative, K Kalai Selvi, said, "We have been requesting for land for the past 10 years. However, the administration has not taken any action. We are still living as groups in rented houses."
The transwomen currently stay in Hajiyar Nagar and Solasakaranallur. For 20 years, they have been staying in Vetham Pillai Colony on the banks of the Cauvery, where they were allegedly subjected to harassment, abuse and taunting from local youth. CPM helped them fight the harassers legally and later they joined the party where a new wing was started for them.
It has been six months since the transwomen moved from Vetham Pillai Colony to Hajiyar Nagar and Solasakaranallur. They pay house rent as groups.
CPM Mayiladuthurai district secretary P Seenivasan said, "The transwomen have been struggling without their own place for years. A speedy action would be of great help to them."
Mayiladuthurai RDO J Balaji promised to take action within a couple of weeks. "We are still trying to identify land for them. We have been facing objections from locals everywhere. There are not too many options available in Mayiladuthurai town and may have to seek places in Sirkazhi and Tharangambadi," he said.