Following SimpliCity expose of the miserable condition in which the nomads who are forced live in pavements in Gandhipark, have caught the public attention, the police swung into action and forced the nomads out the pavement sleaving the with little choice as to their shelter needs.
Resultantly, the nomads are seen wandering the streets with a place to pitch their tents.
About 40 families of nomadic tribes, who perform in the streets by flogging themselves have been living in the pavements for years in Thadagam road near Gandhipark. They have repeatedly petitioned district collector TN Hariharan to issue free house pattas or tenements for them.
A couple of day’s back these nomadic tribes thronged the collectorate and petitioned the collector once again demanding for a house pattas or a tenement to live in. They even flogged themselves with whips to urge the collector to look into their demands.
The tribal families who spoke to Simplicity said "We live in pavements and forced to lead a precarious existence in pavements near Gandhipark. Our appeal to issue us with free house pattas, or allot tenements by Tamilnadu Slum Clearance Board have fell on deaf ears”.
However when Simplicity contacted a senior Slum Clearance Board official said that following their petition submitted to the collector, tenements would be allotted to them behind the Ukkadam bus depot and the files have been sent to the Head office for approval. But when tenements are allocated, they have to remit an advance, I don’t know whether they will come forward to pay the advance. He said.
But till then the nomads would be forced to live in the open and roam the streets. Their condiiton has become more pitisome after they have been driven out of the pavement, their "make - shift home" for years.
The heartless manner in which the nomads were forced out by the Police action without allocating them an alternative site to live in was heart wrenching for those who watched the nomads being evicted from the pavements.