Dying fish and crumbling flats

“How can we complain against the government and big people,” says a puzzled Prakash, when asked about why he has not complained about fish dying from effluents dumped by Metrowater and the skyscrapers of neighbouring MRC Nagar.

Prakash is fisherman from Srinivasapuram, a slum on the banks of the Adayar Creek, in ward 150- Avvai Nagar (South) of the Chennai Corporation. The seaward side is picturesque and wonderful to walk through, but the side facing the creek is terribly congested and stinks of sewage.

The local municipal councillor is T. Velu of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Srinivasapuram is in the Mylapore assembly constituency and Chennai South parliamentary constituency, represented by S. V. Shekher All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) and T. R. Baalu (DMK), respectively.

Karthik, another fisherman from Srinivasapuram says they find syringes in the creek, dumped by hospitals. The water stinks. This writer observed dead fish floating below Broken Bridge, on the creek.

Sundar, health coordinator of Montfort Community Development Society (MCDS), which regularly conducts health camps in Srinivasapuram, says fishermen suffer from skin diseases due to contact with sea water. They usually do not bother to get it treated.

People here also fall sick after drinking contaminated water from Metrowater tankers, says Sundar. The MCDS spreads awareness about health by conducting these camps with organisations like Rotary International.

Daisy Rani, a resident from the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) apartments here, says people cannot afford to boil water. Only some can afford packaged water cans while the rest have to depend on Metrowater. The Apartments do not have running water but some of the private houses do.

She says Corporation health personnel only visit during calamities, the tsunami, or for neo-natal care. Only three physicians, all private, frequent the area. Underground drainage has only recently been constructed. “The nearest hospitals are in Santhome and Triplicane (3-6km away).We need to go until there even for a delivery,” Daisy points out.

“The TNSCB flats have toilets but the sanitation in the huts is bad. Still, some residents rent out their flats and live outside. Public toilets are very dirty. There is moss growing in the urinals,” adds Daisy. After the tsunami, Daisy was relocated to a single storey house in Chemmancherry, a southern coastal suburb. Despite amenities like running water, she shifted back to Srinivasapuram for her childrens’ education.

According to Gomathi Manoharan (DMK), former municipal councillor of the ward, there are 1356 TNSCB apartments here, which came up in 1993. They house about 2000 families. 5000 more families live in huts. The government relocated 4000 families to Chemmancherry after the tsunami, but many, like Daisy have come back.

“(TNSCB) Flats residents sleep outside for fear of the roof caving in. The buildings are damaged but the government won’t resettle us in situ as they want to sell the land to Larsen & Toubro. The company doesn’t want us beside the buildings they construct.”

Gomathi says 50 people from Srinivasapuram got killed in the tsunami. That is because the area is surrounded by water on 3 sides. Even the fourth side got flooded and there was no where to run. She believes these could have been avoided if the TNSCB tenements were in neighbouring Pattinapakkam. According to her, this was the original plan, but the Pattinapakkam tenements were given to other slum dwellers in Chennai.

“We need 2000 more flats. 1000 in Pattinapakkam, for the kids and 1000 here, for the elders. There are three families living in my house (single storey private construction, less than 500 square feet) itself.” She adds that the Corporation has an elaborate plan to resettle them in apartments, to be built in Pattinapakkam, with a park and other amenities. But the execution of it would take two years. “Where will we live during that time,” she asks.

According to resident Srinivasan people have complained to the MLA and MP, but nothing seems to get done because people are divided on caste lines. “After the Tsunami, fishermen got boats, but we (non-fishermen) got nothing. Parties can keep winning here by appeasing the fishing community,” says Srinivasan.

According to Srinivasan, the Pattinapakkam dispensary has attenders but no physicians and the nearest government hospital is in Royapettah, 7 km away. The nearest government schools are CMS higher secondary school, Santhome and Pattinapakkam elementary school, yet people spend more and send their children to private schools like PS Senior Secondary School, Mylapore or Santhome High School.

Gomathi Manoharan agrees. She says in the 1970s the government had to raid homes for children not going to school. Now, due to awareness, people are even sending their children to expensive private schools. Government schools are also good and mid-day meals are served. “It doesn’t matter if the fathers are drunk. At least the children don’t go hungry,” says an ageing Gomathi.

She smiles saying how the one child norm is voluntarily followed here. “In 1976, men were forcefully sterilised. Now my son has just had one daughter and he doesn’t want any more,” she boasts.

There are many christians and muslims here and inter-religious marriage is common, says Gomathi. “There are no communal clashes and our girls can roam freely even at 1 AM. That’s because we have known each other for 50 years.”