Surya Nagar dwellers unwilling to move an inch post clearance drive

Around 300 families continue to stay on in Surya Nagar, Kotturpuram, defying government efforts to relocate them to Perumbakkam. Long-time residents of the tenements say they were promised pattas to settle in Surya Nagar and are now asked to move out.

“Where is the guarantee they will not evict us from Perumbakkam a few years from now?” asks Jayamma a maid. She also says only those who squatted on the river bed should be moved out and the rest, living a good distance from the river, be allowed to stay. 

Others concede that a few squatters have exploited their situation and built two or three additional rooms randomly. “Nepali boys who come in search of work and North Indians used to share a room. They were charged up to Rs 4,000 as rental,” say a couple of them, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Most of us were born here and our livelihoods are centred around Kotturpuram,” says Krishnan, who works as a driver in Anna University.

 His daughters study at Anna Gem School and Krishnan earns additional income by cleaning luxury cars such as Mercedes Benz and BMW in the locality. His wife too works as a cook in an apartment. Bhaskar, who runs a small printing press likewise refuses to leave the locality saying they did not encroach upon the river, and should not be the ones to be evicted. They suspect once they vacate the government could hand over the land to a real estate developers. 

Ever since the December floods, there have been calls from activists and concerned citizens for addressing the squatting issue without fear or favour. The state government announced the resettlement drive for many of the tenement dwellers of Kotturpuram and Saidapet and the first lot were moved out a few days after Pongal.

“The new settlement in Perumbakkam is good. We have running water, a compact bedroom, hall, kitchen and attached bathroom,” says Sundari, a former Surya Nagar resident. Employed as a house help in Kotturpuram, she says her job is unaffected as she is able to commute to work, since there is a good bus connectivity. 

“They have transferred even our ration shops, so there are no problems from shifting out,” says Revathy another resident. ‘However, if the remaining 300-odd families are allowed to stay on in Surya Nagar it would be a wrong move by the authorities,” she says.

After the December floods, actor Suhasini and director Mani Ratnam’s Naam Foundation announced it was adopting Surya Nagar. When contacted, a spokesperson said, “The residents approached us and resisted the relocation move. But we told them if the government is giving them a better place, why would the Foundation interfere with that? We assured the residents that wherever they shift, we will continue extending support. They can continue to meet us once a month and our people too will visit them and interact with them at Perumbakkam. If they have any issues there, we will help redress them.”