VILLUPURAM: Members of the narikuravar and transgender communities, currently taking shelter in the New Bus Stand, continue to survive in dismal conditions as district authorities fail to provide adequate rehabilitation or welfare support in Villupuram.
Four to six families from the nomadic narikuravar tribe have called the bus stand home for nearly two generations, selling bead jewellery to passersby in a daily struggle to make ends meet. Their fragile existence is also shared by transgender individuals, the homeless, and people battling mental illness all of whom are living without basic safety, dignity, or institutional support, the members said.
Speaking to TNIE on anonymity, a 23-year-old tribal woman said, “We are exposed to various abuses by strangers who assume we solicit but we dream of a dignified decent life like any other individual. It is difficult to survive here with the children as they are also vulnerable to the dangers.”
The members blamed the officials for namesake inspection and occasional survey that does not reflect in any rescue or rehabilitation of the community.
Most of the residents, especially women and children, face constant threats of harassment and sexual abuse, with no safe housing or access to healthcare, education, or social protection. Despite repeated pleas for help, these marginalised communities remain overlooked by the district administration and the department of social welfare.
“We’ve been living here as there is no shelter for us elsewhere, because we are marginalised trans women who are often not included even among the transgender community,” said a 28-year-old trans woman.
“Officers often chase us away without offering any alternative shelter. Some even hurl abuse at us because of our identity while random men try to lure us into peddling illegal drugs. We are threatened to do it,” she alleged.
While the district boasts various welfare schemes aimed at supporting tribal and marginalised groups, welfare measures to such small groups remain allegedly absent on the ground. Activists say the lack of engagement and meaningful rehabilitation measures has pushed these communities further into invisibility.
“With no respite in sight, residents of the new bus stand continue to live on the margins unseen, unheard, and left to fend for themselves in one of the town’s busiest public spaces. But the administration seems to not care. We demand the district collector to help these women and children immediately,” said Lucia, an advocate at the Villupuram district court and organiser of Aatral women welfare foundation.