It has been 21 years since the tsunami; still no houses! – Fishermen in unending agony

In the Kargil Nagar residential area of Chennai, 158 families who lost their homes in the tsunami have been waiting for nearly 21 years without being provided houses. The houses that were supposed to be constructed using funds allocated by the World Bank Urban Housing Development Board have not been delivered.

The information that the government had said to pay Rs. 6,43,000 to purchase has struck the affected people like a thunderbolt. They cannot pay such a large amount at once and had submitted a petition in 2022 stating they would pay in installments, but even after three years, the houses have not been given. Yesterday (Dec. 8), members of the Indian Fisherwomen's Labor Union protested by besieging the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board. Speaking on this, Indian Fisherwomen's Labor Union General Secretary Meenava Shanti said, "They had temporarily given us a place in Kargil town after the tsunami affected us."

We were displaced because those houses caught fire and burned down. The houses provided to many affected by the tsunami have not reached many of us even after 21 years. For 21 years, thousands of people have been running around the Collector, Fisheries Department, Chief Minister, and Slum Clearance Board, pleading and struggling. However, the houses that are due to us have still not arrived. Many of us have been living on platforms, in slum houses, or rented homes. We have organized multiple protests highlighting these hardships. After the tsunami, we lived in slum houses allocated to us, but when a fire accident occurred there, we were displaced again.

At the same place, they have now built a 15-story apartment. We fought many times, and they allocated a house to us there. But they said we had to pay 600,000 rupees. We agreed to that and paid a 50,000 rupee advance. We submitted an application stating that we would pay the remaining amount in monthly installments of 2,000 rupees once the house was given. They gave us a certificate promising that the advance would be returned after the house was completed. But even after the house was finished, they did not give us the house and demanded the full 600,000 rupees. When we protested that we could not afford it, they told us to take a bank loan. If we took a bank loan, they said the monthly payment would be 7,000 rupees, and still, they would not give the house. But the bank came asking for the loan money. We are not ready to pay the money to the bank.

"We are building houses in the colony. We need to be provided houses immediately," he stated the situation. "The World Bank did not give loans to the people affected by the tsunami; they provided funds as grants," says social activist Geetha Ramakrishnan. Geetha has fought in many places to get houses built for many people affected by the tsunami. Geetha Ramakrishnan further added, "The 158 families we mention here are certified by the fisheries department as tsunami-affected. Beyond these 158 families, thousands more have been affected and remain without houses. None of them have come forward to fight."

Members affiliated with the Indian Fisherwomen's Labor Union have come forward to protest. Currently, the issue is why priority is not being given to those affected by the tsunami, who were displaced due to a fire accident in Kargil town, to be housed in the homes built in the same Kargil town," he said. Furthermore, Sebastian, coordinator of the Urban Residential Land Rights Federation, stated, "When the tsunami struck, funds came from many places, and although houses were built and given to many at that time, there are still many who have not been provided with such houses. They have spent 21 years struggling. These people should be given houses free of charge, fairly, but…

As the government continued to delay, the people compromised and agreed to pay the money. The main issue here is the beneficiary's share amount, which is the basis on which the government asks for money from the people. The government has forgotten an important point: these people should have received their houses many years before this rule came into effect. The government is responsible for the delay. Sebastian, coordinator of the Urban Residential Land Rights Federation, rightly says the government should compensate for the loss. How can it be just to forget this and collect money from the people? These people have been continuously protesting; they even took to the sea to protest. Despite many protests,

"No one is willing to solve the problem," said the forest officer. Regarding this, we tried to contact Shreya P. Singh, the Director of the Urban Habitat Development Board, but she did not respond to our calls. Additionally, we attempted to reach K.V. Muralidharan, the Director of the Fisheries Department. Someone else answered the phone and said, "Sir is in a meeting, give me your number, I will tell him." Even after finishing the article, we tried to contact both of them again, but received no response until the end. We are ready to publish it after proper consideration if they respond. – Gokul Saran