Citizen Connect: Falling ceilings and leaking roofs, Woes aplenty in these 2,000 Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board houses

Living in dilapidated homes, residents of close to 2,000 houses in Boopathi Nagar in Kodambakkam have requested authorities to rebuild the homes.

Drainage flowing inside homes, falling sun shades and damaged power wires – these are just some of the woes of the residents living in the flats in Kodambakkam’s Boopathi Nagar.

“The flats are more than four decades old. Just the other day, the sun shade of one of the houses crashed, damaging the apartment below,” said a resident on the condition of anonymity.

The source added that officials from the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB), who have been visiting the colony and surveying it, have offered to only repair them. “But these apartments are extremely old and need to be rebuilt. We have been asking the officials to consider the plan, but they seem keener on covering up the cracks and carrying out minor repairs,” the source added.

With crumbling ceilings, most of the residents have had to resort to false ceilings or build a beam-like structure for homes on the ground floor to ensure that there is no further damage. “Some of us have carried out repairs on our own, but these are barely enough,” added the person.

The residents claimed that the colony has become uninhabitable due to the onslaught of mosquitoes after the drainage began to overflow into their homes. “The roads have been re-laid a number of times and the height of the road has been increased so much that the houses are flooded during rain.”  The residents said that another issue was with the encroachment in the colony. “There is a structure that stands in the middle of the colony and nobody can dare to question the person [who erected it]. In case of emergency, an ambulance or a fire engine cannot enter the street due to this. During water crisis, a tanker cannot enter the street,” said the source.

Several representations have been made to various officials and ministers including the local MLA, said the residents. “But no none has responded or assured us of any help,” they alleged.

After seeing the dilapidated condition of the building, a technical committee report has been directed to be filed, so as to take this for reconstruction, a TNSCB department official said.