In the scorching summer heat, M. Lakshmi sits under a temporary shelter made with tin sheets. She has by her side, a lunch box, water bottles and a plastic box with coins and some currency notes.
Ms. Lakshmi is waiting for at least two people to come to her shelter so that she can operate a catamaran to help them cross a small, but deep stretch of the Adyar Estuary.
A few hundred residents of Srinivasapuram depend on the cataraman to reach offices and homes at MRC Nagar and Karpagam Gardens, where most of them are employed.
Once ‘passengers’ step on the catamaran, they pull a nylon rope, both ends of which are tied to wooden poles, thereby enabling the traditional wooden boat to move.
Their homes are dwarfed by high-rise office buildings, hotels and apartment complexes located close to the mouth of the Adyar.
“Earlier we had to wade through waist-deep water. When the tide increases, there will be neck-deep water and while men would swim across, we would have to take a long walk to reach home,” said S. Mahjabin (26) who lives in Srinivasapuram and works at MRC Nagar as a domestic help.
The catamaran service especially benefits the women residents of Srinivasapuram, who otherwise have to take a detour through Loop Road and Santhome High Road to reach MRC Nagar.
Bund strengthened
One year ago, as part of a massive beautification project, the bund on the southern side of the backwaters was strengthened and also deepened, making it impossible for people of Srinivasapuram to walk across the backwaters and the catamaran alone provides them access to the other side.
Lakshmi’s husband Muthu was a rickshaw puller when they were living in Pallavaram and later, a daily wage earner before he died a few years ago. She does not remember her age and has not gone to school.
“People pay Rs. 2 per trip and they travel twice a day. Of an average collection of about Rs. 400 a day, I get one-third,” Ms. Lakshmi said.
The rest of the amount goes to the boat owner who has employed her. Her shift begins early in the day and she works till 8 p.m.
