Thideer Nagar has TNSCB clearance: Residents

The trouble started when the police announced the eviction on Sunday. Priya, a documentary filmmaker, who has been helping the residents seek redressal, said that attempts to reach out to the Collector bore no action. 

“On Sunday too, the residents protested against the eviction. On Monday, they went to the Collector’s office only to be told that nothing could be done. If the eviction continues, the people will protest,” she said. 

Lawyer Greeshma Rai, who along with Priya, conducts tuitions in the slum area questioned the basis of eviction. “There is a plaque in the location which clearly declares Thideer Nagar as a slum area and which was also inaugurated by DMK working President MK Stalin in 2007. Authorities say that fear of flooding during rains is the reason for eviction but that is not true, as the houses are on the main road. The residents have petitioned the Collector and found out it was a land owned by the PWD. But, there is no clarity since it was sanctioned as a slum by the TNSCB. The residents petitioned many authorities and the lack of response drove them to block the road, seeking a valid answer from the authorities,” concluded the lawyer.