TIRUPUR: At a time when the growth in exports from Tirupur, often referred to as the `dollar town', is attracting attention, a study by the Municipality has highlighted the pathetic living condition of its residents.

More than a third of the town's population lives in slums. The 27.19-sq km town, set to be upgraded as the State's seventh Municipal Corporation, houses 88 slums.

According to the study, 1.26 lakh residents out of the 3.52 lakh (36 per cent) live in slums on the banks of the Noyyal and on land belonging to the railway, Government and others. Literacy rate in these slums is just 37 per cent.

The break-up

The study reveals that of the 21,362 families dwelling in the slums, 60 per cent are that of hosiery workers, 15 per cent of construction workers, five per cent of sanitary workers and 10 per cent of self-employed persons.

The dollar earnings might have changed the landscape of the town, which is dotted with huge factory buildings, posh residential bungalows, dozens of luxury cars and a golf course. But the living condition of residents is pathetic.

The slums of Tirupur are slightly different from those in other cities and towns. Thanks to the growth in garments units, 18,661 houses out of 21,362 have tiled roof and only 658 have thatched roof.

But this does not mean that they enjoy the luxury of urban living. All of them lack piped drinking water, proper sanitation and, in some cases, even electricity supply. None of the 88 slums has a school or community building.

If this is the case of Tirupur Municipality, the condition of the peripheral areas, where migration is rapid owing to scarcity of land in the town, is even worse.

Holding strips of tablets, hosiery worker Sashikumar, 20, says his family members fall sick every month. Life on the banks of the Sangilipallam, a tributary of the Noyyal, which passes through the town, turns into a nightmare during rain, he adds.

Choked with effluents and other hazardous waste, a foul smell hangs heavy in the air. His father, Nagaraj, a tailor, who has been living in the place for two decades, says the smell had turned unbearable of late. The number of pigs has also proliferated. "Most of our hard-earned money goes towards medical expenses," they said. The proliferation of slums is mainly due to the explosive growth in the last decade. Hundreds of families move to Tirupur every month scouting for jobs due to drought and unemployment in their native lands. The exorbitant rent and spiralling land costs are forcing these people to occupy government land , says M. Chandran, district secretary of the CITU.

Plan ready

The study has chalked out steps for upgradation/ modernisation of the slums. The Rs. 300-crore plan envisages shifting slum-dwellers to nearby areas and modernising a few in the existing localities in a phased manner.

The exporting community that usually accuses Governments of not providing adequate infrastructure has done precious little on the housing front to their workforce.

Crying for the basic amenities, the slum-dwellers yearn for a proactive attempt by the Government for a massive rehabilitation project to ensure them better tenements.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail