Houses handed over to flood-hit

huge relief:22 families from Srinivasa Nagar, that had lost their huts in December, are ready to move into the new houses. —Photo: K. Pichumani

A group of 22 families in Srinivasa Nagar, Pattinapakkam, that lost their huts in last year’s floods, moved into their new homes on Sunday.

At a function held in the locality, the new concrete houses, which had been constructed with funds provided by the Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, were inaugurated.

As part of the exercise to improve the cleanliness in the area, the math launched ‘Namadhu Pagudhi; Namadhu Poruppu’ on the lines of Swacch Bharath. A battery-operated tricycle was distributed for collection of garbage.

The math has formed a seven-member group to undertake door-to-door garbage collection. Gautamananda, president, Ramakrishna Math, Chennai region, handed over the keys of the houses to the beneficiaries. Recounting his visit to the locality after it was struck by the tsunami in 2005, he said he was surprised to note the civic development that had taken place there.

Vimurtananda, manager of the math, said after taking into account the financial situation of the people, the math proposed to replace the thatched huts with concrete huts.

A total of 22 families that had been severely affected by flooding were identified and each house was constructed at a cost of Rs. 40,000.

He appreciated the volunteers and also the people in the locality who helped in constructing the houses. Justice K. Chandru, retired judge of Madras High Court, lauded the math for its efforts.

Each house costs Rs. 40,000.

A tricycle for collecting trash

was also donated