THOOTHUKUDI: Dilapidated buildings of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) at Ambedkar Nagar in Thoothukudi corporation limits have become a den for anti-social activities, leaving the neighbours scared stiff every time they pass by the place.
The multi-storey housing blocks, built in 1995 for government employees, in an area spanning 4.5 acres on Poopandiyapuram road comprise 198 apartments. Employees of the corporation, and various government departments, including the police, were accommodated here. “However, the occupants began to vacate the buildings in 2015 owing to poor construction and recurring damages. The TANGEDCO had also withdrawn power supply to the apartments,” official sources said.
Over the years, miscreants began to frequent the vacant buildings for booze sessions and consuming drugs. Sources said many youngsters, who have turned the place into a ganja den, have also broken street lights in the TNHB colony to render the place pitch-dark during the night hours. They have also stolen iron rods from the building windows.
"The anti-social elements have many times issued death threats to the locals who mustered up the courage to question the illegal activities. They rob motorists at night, and recently a family had to shift house as the miscreants misbehaved with their daughter. A man was even attacked with a knife once. Ganja sales also take place on these premises, and police have remained a mute spectator to everything," a resident told TNIE.
Following repeated complaints, Thalamuthunagar police personnel visited the area recently. The miscreants then ran into an empty apartment and hurled stones at the police vehicles, said sources. "The government must demolish the buildings immediately and ensure the safety of the nearby residents. Though the Public Works Department guidelines mandate that government buildings should be habitable for at least 50 years, these TNHB blocks began to disintegrate within just 20 years. A probe must be initiated into the poor construction, and those who caused a loss of several crores of rupees for the State exchequer must be brought to book," demanded Michael Anto Geenious, an activist.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior official from TNHB said they have proposed demolition of the buildings and are awaiting a government order. "The buildings will be flattened as soon as the government gives its consent and a new housing colony will be built," he added.