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Officials continue with demolitions in Porur

Staff Reporter

3-year-old drowns; boats sought to retrieve belongings

CHENNAI/TAMBARAM: Officials continued to bring down huts, houses, prayer halls and commercial establishments that had encroached on the Porur lake for about two decades for the second successive day on Friday.

On Friday, hundreds of huts on either sides of the lake — split into two halves after the construction of Chennai Bypass — were pulled down by giant earthmovers.

Palpable anger

The anger of those whose houses were demolished was palpable, prompting the police to prevent people from grouping together. Police detained a youth who confronted a senior woman officer of the Revenue Department of Kancheepuram district.

A three-year-old girl fell into the water and drowned. Police said the girl's mother was carrying her on her shoulders along with household materials salvaged from their hut, when the girl slipped and fell into the water. An effort was under way to trace the child.

Drive to continue

The demolitions were carried out with the help of more than 24 earthmovers and the drive is likely to continue until all the illegal structures were removed, officials said.

Removal of encroachments on such a large scale is being carried out for the first time in Chennai, officials said, noting that over 6,000 structures would be brought down.

The evictees pleaded that the government should deploy a few boats to help them retrieve their belongings and bring them ashore.

Ownership documents

A majority of the people evicted had purchased land ranging from one cent (about 480 square feet) to one ground (2,400 square feet), with some buying more. They had paid between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 1 lakh per plot and had even obtained ownership documents.

"I bought about three cents for Rs 2 lakh only two years ago. The seller gave us documents and promised us the patta later," said Kaveri, who was unable to recall the seller's name, except that he was from Kunrathur and belonged to a political party.

Many residents were not aware they were building houses inside the water body as there was no trace of a bund nearby and the Chennai Bypass had formed a boundary of sorts.

Subramani, who managed to retrieve his possessions, said he had bought the land after paying about Rs. 50,000 to an employee of a nationalised bank who wielded a lot of clout among politicians and government officials in the area.

Residents displayed their voter identity, ration and electricity cards and said they had paid all the necessary taxes without fail and wondered why the government agencies were evicting them now.

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