TIRUCHY: "Life in huts was much better than what it is living in these flats built by Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) at Jailpettai," rues 28-year-old M Ramkumar, while talking about the abysmal condition of their residence.
It may be remembered that the State government recently renamed the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board as TNUHDB.
About 287 houses in four-storey buildings were allotted for hutment dwellers at Jailpettai around 2011. They were then relocated to a far-off place, where they stayed in rented houses for four years until their flats were ready.
However, within a few years of moving into the flats, their dreams of living in a good house came crashing down. Owing to lack of maintenance and poor civil works, the area turned more worse than the slum they were living in.
Says Gowri (43), "Several drainage pipes were damaged even when the houses were given to us. Owing to poor quality of work, the toilets got damaged soon.
Sewage leaks from houses in top floors are common all around. During rains, sewage and stormwater get mixed and drains into a pit, from which we collect drinking water."
Neelavathi, another residents, says, "All our earnings are spent on hospital expense as someone or the other in our household keeps falling sick. This is only owing to the unhygienic conditions of the flats."
The condition of a ground floor house belonging to physically challenged Santhi (45) is nothing short of abysmal.
"Sewage seeps into the bathroom inside my house and the floor has started to disintegrate. We are unable to use the facility and sewage gets collected in the bathroom during rains," she says.
The youth complain about the place lacking a community hall and play area for children.
Ramkumar adds, "The living area inside the house is inadequate for family functions like wedding anniversaries or engagements. If there is a death, we keep the dead body in an open area near the buildings. During rainy season, it is very difficult to perform the last rites. So we need a community hall, like we were promised."
Vellaiyammal, another resident, says rainwater leaks inside her house every year. "We are afraid to switch on lights and fans as the walls are always wet due to seepage. Are these houses any better than our huts?"
Naveen Kumar (25), an engineering graduate, points at the negligence of board officials towards their apathy.
"We have submitted petitions several times and expressed our grievance regarding the condition of these houses. Though the officials have always promised to carry out maintenance works, nothing has happened. We are living in houses that leak and amid foul smell. This is the condition of our housing board unit situated right behind the office of TNUHDB executive engineer," he says.
When contacted, a senior officer with the board says, "We are going to visit the units and prepare estimation for the maintenance works in a week. The work will begin at the earliest."