– M Rafi Ahmed
Chennai: A Gaza like situation prevailed at Quaide Millath Nagar under Ankaputhur neighbourhood which comes under the newly formed Tambaram Corporation. Muslims were seen performing their Eid al-Adha prayers amidst the rubble sans any celebrations as their dwellings were razed to the ground following a demolition drive initiated jointly by the Corporation, Revenue, Police, Fire and Rescue Services department under the pretext of Chennai’s river restoration and flood mitigation strategy.
Yesterday, the Palestinians in Gaza and suburbs were seen offering the Eid prayers near the rubble as they lost their dwellings, personal belongings and thousands of lives in the Israeli army attack. Much disheartening to witness the Muslims at Quaide Millath Nagar on the outskirts of Chennai Metro being displaced due to forceful demolition based on Madras High Court direction.
Really heart rending to infer that the Quaide Millath Nagar residents with a major chunk being Muslims couldn’t celebrate Eid al-Adha and perform the ritual of sacrifice when Muslims spread across different locations in Chennai Metro were celebrating the fest with religious fervour and gaiety. Sadly, the demolition has destroyed their joy of celebrating the Eid al-Adha.
Moved by the plight of the dwellers across 15 localities, Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi (TVK) president and Panruti MLA T Velmurugan slammed the DMK, his party’s ally, over the eviction and demolition of homes in areas like Anakaputhur and Saidapet in Chennai. While addressing at an event organised by the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Farmers Association, Velmurugan condemned the ruling DMK government for forcibly removing residents from 15 villages, including Eknapuram, allegedly to make way for a private airport project that “doesn’t even have a single flight.”
In a post on The Commune, a news and views portal focusing on social and political issues of the southern part of India with a focus on Tamil Nadu, Velmurugan drawing parallels with demolitions in Delhi said, “Here, for the sake of a private (entity) Tata that doesn’t even have a single flight, people from 15 villages including Eknapuram are being chased out and thrown away. In Delhi, thousands of dwellings were demolished. There is no one to question. Children are crying, schoolboys and girls in uniform, there’s no one to hear them.
“In Tamil Nadu, it’s our alliance government, the DMK government in Chennai that is demolishing and throwing out people from marginalised communities, from coastal regions, from riverside areas, and poor people displacing daily wage workers. From Kundrathur to Anakaputhur, from Saidapet to all parts of the city, they are being evicted and their homes razed. No one listens.
And if questioned, they say the High Court ordered. Velmurugan questioned the High Court judges for showing reluctance in ordering for eviction of many star category hotels, commercial complexes, government buildings in Chennai which have been built on water bodies. A poor Muslim woman’s cry with two daughters prostrating before a police officer went unheeded.
The criticism came in response to widespread evictions and demolitions taking place in Anakaputhur, particularly in areas like Quaid-E-Millath Nagar and Stalin Nagar. The Tambaram Corporation, citing flood mitigation efforts, has begun clearing what it says are unauthorised structures along the Adyar River.
According to officials, nearly 600 concrete homes are marked for demolition, with 593 structures already labelled as illegal encroachments. The operation, now in its third day, has already seen more than 300 homes demolished, following earlier similar efforts in Shanthi Nagar and Moogambi Nagar. The dwellers expressed dissatisfaction in giving dwellings at Guduvanchery Thailavaram, a developing village which is far off with lack of any basic amenities.
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam has urged the State government a few weeks ago to issue patta to residents of Quaid-E-Millath Nagar and Stalin Nagar in Anakaputhur. In this connection a petition was presented to K N Nehru for regularisation of the dwellings. Selective enforcement drive leaving real estate developer’s building and private engineering college in encroached land has come in for severe criticisms from the public and political parties. Grapevine has it that the eviction drive is mainly to entertain a major real estate developer to construct high rise apartments.
[The author is former Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle chief]
