Residents of Athikulam Housing Board have petitioned Collector T.G. Vinay seeking alternative housing units as their houses have been declared encroachments. The residents, who belong to Scheduled Caste community, said they could not afford to pay rent.
Speaking to mediapersons, A. Parvathy, a resident, said trying to rent houses nearby was in vain as house owners were reluctant to have SC people as tenants. “Our family is living in this place for the past 20 years. My children go to a nearby school. If they uproot us, they should at least give us alternative housing arrangement,” she said.
G. Arumugam, another resident, said the district administration sought ₹10,000 for giving patta land to build a house. “We earn just ₹100 in a day by cleaning toilets and sweeping houses. How can we afford to pay ₹10,000?” he said.
The residents have sought a month’s time to evict home and have asked the authorities to allow them to pay the ₹10,000 in instalments.
