Around 20 families, who were residing for many years on the platform on Spur Tank Road, which runs along the Cooum river, were evicted on Tuesday without being provided with the option of any alternative housing or temporary shelters.
The families, who said they belonged to the Kuruman tribal community, resided in makeshift shelters on the road. They made brooms, chairs and other artefacts from bamboo and sold them where they resided.
V. Krishnaveni, aged around 50, said she moved here at least two to three decades ago. B. Polaiya, a 50-year-old man, said at least three generations of families have lived in the locality, with many possessing Aadhaar cards, and voter identity cards.
While some have enrolled their children in schools run by the Greater Chennai Corporation nearby, many others have admitted their children in government-run hostels in Sullurupeta in Andhra Pradesh, where the families have their roots, since it was difficult to get Scheduled Tribe certificate for them here.
Ms. Krishnaveni said the families were willing to shift if they were provided alternative housing elsewhere through the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board. “With little children and women, where will we go in this scorching sun. We have not had water or eaten anything since morning,” she said.
Mr. Poulaiya said one of the persons from the community was issued a letter by the police few weeks ago, stating that they were encroaching on the pavements. Apart from that, he said the people did not receive any communication or offered alternative housing. “Today morning they came and said they have to evict us,” he said.
Vanessa Peter, founder, Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities, said the eviction amounted to a human rights violation as the officials did not offer any temporary shelter, or even food or water to the people. “The government claims to have a standard operating procedure to be followed for carrying out such evictions in a “humane” way. However, no such humane approach seems to be followed in this case,” she said.
Later in the evening, Greater Chennai Corporation officials offered to move the families to a shelter. When contacted, a GCC official said that the eviction was carried out primarily by the Water Resources Department and the Corporation offered them accommodation temporarily in a shelter. While the community claimed there were around 20 families, officials said there were 13 families and a few shops. “A decision on permanent alternative housing have to be taken by the government,” the official said.
