CHENNAI: Three months after 80 of the 200 families at Chitra Nagar in Kotturpuram were evicted, the remaining families were also evicted this week, after a long-drawn consultation process. While the first batch of families was relocated to Athipattu after an eviction drive on March 2 as part of Adyar restoration, the remaining families were to be originally allotted houses in the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) tenements in Vyasarpadi.
However, since many of the families were unwilling to shift to Vyasarpadi, the eviction process had been stalled for over three months. TNIE had reported that many of them, working as domestic help in and around the area, were replaced after word of the impending eviction got around, leaving them unemployed.
The families have now been resettled to the G+3 tenements in Thailavaram in Maraimalai Nagar. The residents said they found the scheme better than many others in the city primarily because they were not high-rise structures. However, they now have to hunt for new jobs.
Saleema A, who moved to Thailavaram said, “We have no complaints regarding the houses. But we are still not sure what sort of jobs we will get around here. My son Nazim continues to travel to Kotturpuram in the meantime, where he works as a driver and his regular customers are from there.” A few other residents also travel around 45 km daily, to their old places of work.
Murugan V, another resident said, “It might take some time for the locals to trust us with work, and I managed to get work every week in Kotturpuram because everyone knew me.”Official sources said Thailavaram was quickly becoming the resettlement site of choice for many in the southern part of Chennai, despite the distance. “They said the houses are better here since they are compact and the area is well-connected. All the families have been resettled from Chitra Nagar and the demolition process has begun.”