CHENNAI: Over 120 homeless families, who have been living on pavements along Walltax Road for nearly four to five generations, staged a protest on Friday urging the state to provide them with appropriate housing so that they could improve their living conditions and livelihoods. Following the protest, GCC officials received petitions from the families and assured them that appropriate action would be taken.
The families said the city corporation had allotted houses nearby only to homeless persons living in temporary structures on pavements, while excluding families like theirs who are left without any shelter during the summer and rainy seasons.
Reka Devaraj (50), a protester, said, “Whenever we put up temporary shelters, corporation officials remove them. But when it comes to housing, they say we are ineligible. We have all required identity documents, yet we are still denied housing.”
Durga (25), another resident, said they did not want their next generation to be homeless. “We have submitted numerous petitions, even during the Ungal Thogudhiyil Stalin camp, but no action has been taken,” she said. While many of the protesters’ children are enrolled in government schools, they often drop out early. Ananthi V (35), another protester, said teachers frequently advise parents to shift to rented houses to ensure a distraction-free learning environment for their children. “However, when we approach house owners for rentals, they ask where we currently live, and if we say we are homeless, they immediately refuse to rent it out to us.”
While Walltax Road near Elephant Gate is lined with several travel agencies, the families wait for the shops to close at night before lying down to sleep on pavements. “But, it is only after that unknown individuals often come and sleep next to us, and in several instances misbehave with women, raising safety concerns,” one of the protesters said.
They also said they had to remain constantly alert at night, fearing that speeding vehicles could run over them. Inadequate toilet facilities and constant mosquito menace leave them vulnerable. “The government built TNUHDB tenements on Anna Pillai Street, especially for people like us, but why are we left behind,” they asked.
Similarly, homeless residents on Ratan Bazaar and Stringer Street, where a few homeless families were provided housing near Stanley, were also left behind despite having documents, but not a temporary shelter. TNIE’s attempt to reach out to the corporation official went in vain.