CHENNAI: It is three years since the fatal Christmas Day that left 20 members of their family dead. J Janagaraj and his brother J Paul are two of the three children who survived the horrific boat capsize at Pulicat lake. This Christmas, the children have lost even their home, every little memorabilia of their childhood and soon their dreams too.
“The police gave me and my little brother five minutes to take whatever we want from our house, before they sealed it. At that time all I could think of was to take our school certificates. In the last three years we have gone around courts, police stations, Tahsildar offices and every other authority to get just get access to our home. But it was of no avail”, bemoans 16-year-old, Janagaraj.
Hailing from the business family of Sundarapandian in Gummidipoondi, Janagaraj and his brother have been living in the joint family with his grandfather.
His father was the eldest son of Sundarapandian. Today, all the family business including the stores, hotel and other properties have been sealed by the government, after a dispute over the guardianship of the children.
While Janagaraj and his brother are with their maternal uncle, the other survivor, Paunraj, is with his aunt. With no ration card or an identity card, the young boy and his brother have not even been able to claim the LIC insurance of their parents. The duo now live in a rented home of their uncle tucked away in narrow bylane of Thiruvottriyur.
Janagaraj has learnt to move with the times. “I am thinking of taking up BSc computer Science. I don’t know how much getting into a college would cost,” he says with a resigned smile.
His aunt, G K Chitra, points out that he has realigned his choices keeping in mind the financial situation.
“He always wanted to become an aeronautical engineer. Now, he doesn’t talk about it. He has changed his plans because he doesn’t want to burden us”, she says. To help educate the boys, she has even approached the authorities. “But they said if any help has to be given then the boys must be put in homes. I couldn’t leave them in a home,” she says.
“I wish I would get some identity card to get my Aaadhaar card. The school is asking for it. I don’t know what to do. We have approached every authority. I don’t know what else to do,” he says.
Apart from the fact that the boys are unable the access their home, they complain of theft and vandalism. “Our Qualis Car and two bikes are missing. The gates of the house are open. So the property has been damaged. The AC and everything that was outside the home have been stolen,” he says.