Relocated to high ground, but low on livelihood

As dusk deepens into night, P Jayanthi, a 35-year-old domestic worker, trudges up three flights of stairs to her meagre home. Having shifted to Perumbakkam after last year’s deluge, Jayanthi’s life- tough to begin with-got only tougher. The lack of jobs in the neighbourhood meant that the domestic worker had to commute all the way to her previous occupation in Kotturpuram, using unreliable public transport. “We have to leave early in the morning and return only by 9 pm, after which we have to do the household chores. The bus services are not frequent and when it gets dark, the area is quite unsafe,” she said.

The commute is harder on the children, most of whom are attending school in Kotturpuram or T Nagar. “The school running here is not up to the mark. Most of the children continue to study in the city. To encourage the students to be regular, the school went out of their way and arranged a bus to pick up the children and drop them back daily, supervised by a teacher. If we have such regular services, all the children here can attend school in the city and gain a good education,” said Jyothi, another resident, adding that lack of jobs have forced many children to drop out of school, as families have no money to buy provisions. 

While a few like Jayanthi commute to the city daily, many women, who were earlier occupied as domestic help, are languishing at home without work. 56-year-old Anjala Vennila, formerly a domestic help at Kotturpuram, said her medical condition prevents her from making the daily commute to the city. “I am a diabetic and have no way to support myself. There should be employment opportunities created for people like us in the vicinity,” she said.