CHENNAI: It’s poll frenzy around, but at Kuruvimedu, a small, remote settlement in Ponneri assembly constituency located just 17 km from Thiruvottiyur in north Chennai, it’s an eery silence that prevails. And, all the election accompaniments – be it banner, wall poster, campaigns or candidate visits – are conspicuous by their absence.
Instead, it’s the usual sound of lorries honking that wakes up residents like 20-year-old Kamatchi S, who says her day begins at 4.30 am - not by choice, but by compulsion.
These vehicles, lined up to transport ash from the nearby NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Limited’s Vallur thermal power plant’s ash pond, mark the start of another difficult day. By dawn, her home – like every other in the village – is coated in a fine grey layer. The ash, loosely covered with tarpaulins while being transported, spills and drifts into homes, contaminating food, water, and the air they breathe.
Every day, around 100 to 150 lorries carrying nearly 80 tonnes of ash each pass through Kuruvimedu. By nightfall, the village is blanketed in grey. Trees, rooftops, kitchens, and clothes - nothing escapes. “Even if we close doors and windows, ash finds its way in through the smallest gaps,” says resident P Viswanathan (47).
Now reduced to fewer than 30 households, Kuruvimedu is sandwiched between the thermal power plant and its 300-acre ash pond, located barely 50 metres away. Residents say even a slight breeze lifts ash from the pond into the village.
The constant emission of smoke from coal combustion further pollutes the air, further triggering health issues such as dry coughs, sore throats, breathing difficulties, asthma, and skin allergies. “Within three years of marriage, I developed severe skin allergies,” says V Vaishnavi, who has moved to a rented house in Gounderpalayam near Minjur for her child’s safety.
Nearly 30 graduates in the village remain jobless. Residents allege repeated requests for employment at the thermal plant have been ignored. While many work as contract labourers earning about Rs 23,000 per month, their salaries have never increased, they alleged.
Santhosh B (19), a first-time voter, questions, “Will anything change if we vote? I don’t think so,” he says.
Meanwhile, access to the outside world is another daily struggle. The only 3-km road linking the village to the main highway is severely damaged due to constant heavy vehicle movement. The ash spilling from vehicles troubles commuters. “Our eyes burn and vision blurs while travelling on two-wheelers. By the time we cross, we are covered in ash,” Kamatchi adds.
No buses here. Autos rarely enter the village, and when they do, fares are high. “I spend Rs 3,000/month on an auto to take my daughter to school in Minjur. Rs 300 is asked for extra trips during special classes,” says Viswanathan. Students daily wear an additional T-shirt over uniform to shield themselves from dust. Pregnant women temporarily relocate, and newborns struggle to cope with the polluted environment.
A government elementary school that once functioned here was shut down over a decade ago after teachers allegedly were unwilling to take up postings due to lack of transport. The building now stands abandoned.
The local pond, once a primary source of drinking water, is now contaminated. For the past six years, residents have depended on water supplied by the thermal plant.
Once a green, self-sustained village with hundreds of families engaged in salt pan work (on the land that was taken on lease from the government) and agriculture, Kuruvimedu lost its livelihood when land leases expired and were acquired for industrial use. Residents say they were paid around `30,000 per acre and promised permanent jobs, but most assurances went unfulfilled.
Viswanathan, who once owned 15 acres of Uppalam, 20 acres of agricultural land, now works as a wage labourer collecting coal from conveyor belts after selling the land as it became unfit for farming due to pollution. “We lost land, livelihood, and now even our health,” he says.
Residents say the ash pond blocked natural waterways, leading to severe waterlogging during every north-east monsoon. Floodwaters mixed with ash enter homes, often taking a week to recede. With no relief centres, villagers often protest to gain temporary shelter inside the plant premises.
Despite environmental norms requiring greenbelts and proper ash handling, residents allege poor implementation.
Politically, Kuruvimedu remains invisible. Despite the presence of 225 voters, turnout always remains low due as the polling booth is over 4km away, said T Baskar, former ward member. “Not just this year, but no one has ever come here to ask for votes,” says Kamatchi.
While some young voters still hope for change and said they would opt TVK this year, many older residents have lost faith. Their demand remains clear - relocation to a safer place with housing built on 3-cents of land and permanent employment at the plant. Until then, Kuruvimedu continues to live under a grey cloud, waiting to be heard.