CHENNAI:Rally to highlight pavement dwellers’ plight

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on July 11, 2011

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/rally-to-highlight-pavement-dwellers%E2%80%99-plight/292801.html

CHENNAI: With the inauguration of its 10th branch in the metropolis, the citybased Pavement Dwellers Rights Association is planning a massive rally next month to show its strength and to garner the newly elected State government’s attention to their plight.

“The main objective of the association is to bring the 25,000-odd families living on pavements across the Chennai for years under one umbrella, and fight for justice unitedly,” said N Nandakumar, secretary of the association, when speaking to City Express.

“Our association has been gaining footholds at these places by creating awareness among them on rights, and it has been an eyeopener for many of the residents.” The association’s 10th branch was launched on Saturday at Ambedkar Nagar pavement dwelling units located near Madras Dental College off Fort Railway Station by its legal advisor, N Paul Sunder Singh.

The association has planned to add 12 more branches from different parts of the city, especially from North Chennai, in the next three weeks before a massive rally in the city next month to prevail upon the State government to secure their rights.

Though the association has been in existence since 2009, it remained a small street-based organisation, and only recently it has merged and formed as a formidable association to project it as a sole custodian of pavement dwellers in Chennai city.

“While we put forth several demands to the District Collectorate, Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) and Chennai Corporation for basic amenities at slums, our main demand is that the pavement dwellers should be treated as a human being as they also has ration cards and voters right just like any other people living in the metropolis,” Nandakumar said.