THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When the Peroorkkada-Vazhayila road was widened more than a decade ago, 76 families were evicted from the poramboke land on the roadside. The families were promised new land by the government. Forty-seven families who owned land in other places had homes to go. The rest continue to be homeless until today.
The Peroorkkada market was home to four people. Today, Annamma and Padmam are only survivors at the market. Padmam has a wound-inflicted leg due to the unkempt surroundings she lives in.Kumari, another evictee, is a widow with three sons and sells vegetables on the roadside, under a tarpaulin-covered makeshift shop in the Peroorkkada-Vazhayila stretch.She now lives in a rented house paying Rs 5,000 as rent.“My son is a heart patient. The place we are staying at is not in good condition. All we need is a house that was promised. We want justice,” said Kumari.
When it rains she pulls sacks over the vegetables and rests in the steps of an auditorium opposite her make shift shop.She had applied for a shop provided to roadside vendors through the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) Project by the city corporation but, was rejected.
Sarojam sits next to Kumari. She is the sole breadwinner for her seven-member family. She pays a monthly rent of Rs 6,000. When it rains, water enters our houses. But we have no other options,” she said.
LAND SAGA
When the Peroorkkada-Vazhayila road was widened almore than a decade ago, 76 families were evicted from the poramboke land on the roadside. The families were promised new land by the government. Forty-seven families had homes to go. The remaining 29 families had secured a High Court order which ordered the authorities concerned to build houses in 20 cents of land owned by the city corporation in Vazhayila. However, further work was delayed citing that the land is a prime property.