Evicting indigenous, favouring rich encroachers autocratic, Seeman slams TN govt for Anakaputhur drive

CHENNAI: Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief coordinator Seeman on Wednesday condemned the ruling DMK government's plan to demolish over 750 houses in Anakaputhur area, a move that threatens to displace more than 3,500 residents.

In a statement, Seeman decried the State government's justification of riverbank fortification as a mere pretext to forcibly uproot indigenous residents.

"The forcible eviction of thousands of people under the guise of widening the Adyar River is an act of gross injustice," he said. "This State-sponsored brutality, including the arrest of peaceful protestors, is nothing short of inhuman," he said.

Seeman accused the government of selective enforcement, pointing out that while homes of poor, long-standing residents are being razed, affluent encroachments on the opposite bank remain untouched.

"Why is the government blind to the massive structures owned by wealthy capitalists? Are those not encroachments too?" he asked.

He underscored that many of the residents facing eviction have lived in Anakaputhur for over five decades and possess all valid documentation—ration cards, voter IDs, Aadhaar card, electricity and water connections, and tax receipts.

"When elections come, these homes are counted. But for demolition, they suddenly become illegal," he said, calling the government's actions autocratic.

The NTK leader further alleged that over the past four years, the DMK regime has prioritised handing over land to multinational corporates and northern industrialists while systematically displacing the urban poor.

Reaffirming his party's commitment, Seeman vowed to personally stand with the affected families and urged the State government to immediately halt the demolition drive and permanently abandon such plans.

"The eviction of indigenous people from ancestral lands must end," he added.