Over 350 families staying along the polluted and clogged Mambalam Canal in Todd Hunter Nagar have literally been living on the edge.
Plagued by health problems, lack of power and water supply and deaths and injuries to children falling into the canal, the residents have requested the government to resettle them at the earliest.
Over 500 families have been living along the canal, situated behind the PWD quarters in Todd Hunter Nagar, for over 40 years. They have Aadhaar cards, voter IDs and ration cards. Most of them use hooks to steal power for their houses.
A few years ago, over 150 families were evicted for the Chennai Metro project and given houses in K.K. Nagar.
“After this, officials of the Chennai Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) conducted an enumeration and gave us tokens. Even a few days ago, Corporation officials came and checked our place. We will be happy if the government allots houses for us in some resettlement colony. Our children are living in grave danger,” said Chitra, a resident of the locality. There are more than 100 children who go to schools or colleges.
No streetlights
“Our children study under the streetlights. Recently, the government started demolishing the PWD quarters and now the streetlights are also not available. The water we get is also very polluted,” she noted.
A stinking one-ft-wide pathway separates their huts from the canal. A few children have lost their lives after falling into it.
“The disabled and the elderly also fall into it and get injured. Snakes crawl into the huts from the waterway. We are also exposed to a lot of diseases. We don’t even have a proper pathway to the main road,” said Marimuthu, an elderly resident.
Ms. Chitra said the government should allot them houses at least for the sake of their children.
“We can’t see them suffer,” she said.
