CHENNAI: About 40 Irular tribal families are trapped in their hamlet as the open spaces around have become private plots, leaving them no entry or exit routes. The land they live on — near Thiruporur in the suburbs of Chennai — was bought for them by an NGO in 2006 so they could relocate from what was then another part of Kancheepuram (now Chengalpattu) district.
When they first relocated, their land, in Kannimanagar of Periya Nemmeli, had a direct exit lane to the East Coast Road (ECR). They have housing rights, drinking water, electricity, and toilets, but the development of the surrounding region has posed a problem to them. “There were entry and exit paths when we first came here. But over time, the open fields turned into private plots and our primary exit route was blocked by a massive wall,” said Murugesan, a tribal.
On visiting the village, TNIE noted that the tribals have to travel across private plots for at least 600m to reach one of the main lanes. “Since 2010, the surrounding locality started turning into private lands, and now, it’s full of private plots,” Murugesan added, pointing out how the landowners have demarcated their plots with bricks.
Besides the inconvenience of taking a detour, the tribals fear they would eventually be permanently marooned, as over the recent months, some landowners started objecting to the tribals walking on their plots. “Since we shepherd cattle, they told us to stop using the route. We also ride our bikes on their plots,” said Veerammal, an elderly woman from the community. “We want the government to intervene and lay a proper road to our hamlet,” Veerammal added, explaining that they fear that in a few years, houses or apartments would come up on the surrounding plots.
The tribals have previously sent petitions to the district authorities in this regard but to no avail. When contacted, an official with the district Revenue department said, “We will take up the issue with the Collector and find out if we can carve out a lane to the main road for them.” The residents, however, were not very hopeful, and pointed out that the officials had previously discussed the matter with the plot owners but the latter refused to give up their lands to lay a road.
Speaking to TNIE, Thiruporur constituency MLA SS Balaji, of Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi, said once the rural local body elections are over, a solution will be arrived at. “The tribals had given me a representation about this after I won the election. I have also written to the Collector about it and raised the issue in the Assembly. I will discuss this with the Collector again after the elections,” the MLA said.
Poll candidate hopes to bring change
For S Mohana, an Irular woman from the hamlet, winning the rural local body elections is the only hope to bring a road for the community. She is set to contest for the post of village panchayat ward member. “There are 370 voters in this ward, and it is a four-way contest. Our tribal hamlet has close to 70 votes,
and some women from the dominant community have also promised to vote for me,” Mohana said