No electricity, water or road: Theerthakadu residents to boycott election

Madurai: There is little to distinguish between the life of Mariyappan Samivel, a 75-year-old visually impaired resident of Theerthakadu near Vandiyur, and the lives of thousands of others in the locality who have been living without electricity for decades. In fact, the residents belonging to adi dravidar community have been living without water and roads too.Now, more than 500 families in the settlement have announced that they will boycott the upcoming assembly election for denying them basic rights. Thanga Pandian, a resident, said they will march to Chennai to return 68 e-pattas they received from deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. Spread across 9.5 acres, the area in Ward 38 falls under Madurai East assembly constituency, represented by commercial taxes minister P Moorthy. Thanga Pandian said the locality has nearly 3,000 votes. "In spite of our petitions and grievances, we have been living in these conditions for over 40 years," he said. "Our education and health have suffered, and the community is trapped in poverty and discrimination," he added. Meneka M, who takes tuition for children, says the land was allotted to homeless adi dravidars in 1979. "Decades of encroachments and prolonged litigation, which reached Supreme Court, meant that no development work or basic amenities materialised," she said."The minister never visited us to listen to our grievances. But when there is a kabbadi match or personal function nearby, he has the time to attend it," Thanga Pandian said.Mariyappan Samivel got his toes cut off after a snake bite as the area is surrounded by invasive seemai karuvelam. "We live in darkness, not knowing what is coming in front of us or how to dodge snakes," another resident, Prakash M, said.Tamilarasi V, a Class XII student of EVR Nagamayar corporation girls high school, says they study in candle light. "I want to go to Govt Law College Madurai, so that I can bring some change to my area," she said. "We have to pay to fill water from nearby streets. We need to request shops to charge our phones; it is humiliating," said Pandi Selvi, a homemaker.DMK councillor of the ward, T Kathiravan, admitted it was a decades-long issue. He claimed that temporary lights will be arranged by drawing them from nearby electric poles. "We don't need any temporary fixes but a permanent solution. If we do not matter, then our votes too must not matter," said Meneka. Corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan said the land is currently classified as water course poramboke. "The revenue department has to demarcate the road area. Only after this process can other infrastructure works, including water supply and others, be taken up," she said. District collector K J Praveen Kumar said he will look into the matter. Deputy mayor T Nagarajan, who holds charge of mayor, said he will hold discussions on the issue in the coming days.