My slum report

Warning:This was an academic exercise I am posting just to read any time I run out of sleeping pills, and is highly context specific.Therefore,if you have no interest in the words "slum" or "report" or/and are not a Leftist(I admit I am not one),then you will find yourself highly somnolent after paragraph two.
If you're still awake,you must be related to my Left-"leaning" professors or must really like the way I write in journo-officialese i.e the language confused journalism students use to write errm..."reports" :-) .

And no,I do not have any pictures.Not soft copies atleast.






A slum is the dwelling place of the urban poor,and slum dwellers are often described as “squatters”,” and “encroachers”.Slums are stereotyped as unhygienic and “illegal” settlements which breed criminality and detract from the beauty of a city.
Usha Ramanathan,in the Economic and Political Weekly(July 2005),however,defined them as “service providers who keep urban inhabitants in home,health and happiness” and “migrant workers who build up cities for those who can afford to buy what they build” and whose labour is recognised but whose need for residence is simply ignored.
This is despite the fact that they constitute nearly 30 percent of almost any city’s population.

Another misconception about slums is that people who have built cement houses or have access to power or water supply,are in fact not “poor” but belong to the middle-class .But according to Purnima Arun, a teacher who works in slums, any one whose family cannot function if one earning member falls ill for a week or more ,is poor. “If they can be pushed to poverty,and have no savings to fall back on,they are poor”,she elaborated.

About the slum studied:

The Bharatiyar Nagar settlement is located at Bugari third stage,off Canal Road near Neelankarai,Chennai.The estimated number of families here is between 1000 and 1200.

The Neelankarai Panchayat leader,Mr.Ettiappan of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK) is in charge of the area.Since it is outside city limits and does not come under the purview of the Chennai Corporation, civic facilities are the Panchayat’s responsibility.

Except for two streets among the 17 streets of Bharatiyar Nagar,the rest are entirely kuccha roads. One small bylane had been cemented,but incessant garbage dumping and the recent rains have reduced it to a heap of rubble.

The fourth and fifth cross streets have been made pucca by the residents themselves,by collecting the required sum and ensuring that a rough gutter was built at the side to divert waste water.

There are streetlights on the main road leading into Bharatiyar Nagar.However,they are absent in several places inside.The main road itself is littered largely with rubbish on the sides and one particular low-lying stretch gets inundated if it rains for an hour.Due to lack of underground drainage,residents are forced to use septic tanks.Those cannot afford to possess and maintain these, use gutters outside their homes.

All those living here are aware that they are living on low-lying land with no patta-which is like contract of ownership given by the government. Many have been here for 12 to 20 years and migrated originally from districts north of Chennai.There are people of varied religious denominations here.

Livelihood , living and income-related data:

Most families in the slum are dual-income families atleast.The monthly income ranges from Rs.2000 to Rs.5000.The men are mostly construction labourers who shift jobs or work as coolies or painters in the nearby markets or industries.Women work as domestic helpers,cleaners,maids,or even as tailors in small companies.

Reena Murali,the wife of an auto-driver,does not work..Their family of four is sustained by Rs.4000. “Once my two-year old son goes to school”,she said, “ I will look for a job.” Meanwhile,her husband has bought his own auto,for which he has obtained a loan of nearly 2 lakhs from a “Seth” in Mandaveli.Reena did admit that repaying the loan will be their first priority.

Maheshwari Balasubramanian is a house-maid with three children.She proudly displayed a new toilet that she constructed and added “The streets were public toilets earlier.We had no real ones.Now we have a septic tank that the Panchayat cleans up at regular intervals”.Her husband is a site supervisor for Tamil Nadu Housing Board and he told us that the land they are staying in belongs to the Army.

Health and facilities available:

The absence of public toilets was a significant problem .However,now out of some 500 brick houses,only a handful do not have toilets.

Drinking water has also become a problem.Metrowater supplies water every alternate day,but residents feel that after the Tsunami the quality of the water has changed.
“We buy water cans because we can afford it.I don’t know about the others”,Tulasi Kanniappan observed.

Also,drain water and monsoon water stagnate and serve as a breeding place for mosquitoes. Kalamani,whose husband Ilango is an opposition leader in the Panchayat blamed the authorities for this squarely. “Our leader Ettiappan says that if you are a slum dweller,you cannot expect better facilities.They should atleast spray some mosquito medicine.It has become impossible to step out of the house after 5 pm.”

Hyrul of Kasturba Gandhi Medical Hospital agreed-“I am a nurse and so I buy bleaching powder for the drain near my house.I still try my best to make these people aware.” Hyrul also administers first aid and emergency help to those in the area.She co-ordinates with the Assistant Nurses sent from the Government to perform routine health checkups.

Before the Injambakkam government hospital became functional a few months back,people here had to go either to Royapettah or to Thiruvanmiyur government hospitals.The irony is that there is a medical shop in the area,but no affordable doctor in the vicinity.M.Kartik,the only one in the area who is pursuing an Engineering course, regrets that there is only a private hospital close by called Shanthi Hospital which is “very expensive” for people with uncertain incomes.

Sophia,a non-governmental organisation(NGO) worker from DESH(Deepam Educational Society for Health) has created much awareness regarding health problems in the area.She originally conducted HIV related campaigns in the area,but in 2002 was assigned the task of starting Self Help Groups for women in South Chennai.

These SHGs or magalir kuzhus are actively involved in making women aware of health problems,affordable treatment and post-natal childcare. “Women who were delivering babies at home without medication and facing unsterilized instruments now understand the significance of basic medical facilities.So,we direct them to the Primary Health Centre in Neelankarai or Voluntary Health Service Hospital in Thorapakkam”,she said, when contacted.

It is due to these SHGs that more women and children attend immunization camps for tuberculosis,filaria and polio.Awareness about problems like osteoporosis ,Reproductive Tract Infection(RTI) and Sexually Transmitted Diseases(STDs)has increased,and due to routine checkups by a mobile health clinic,women are directed to government hospitals for surgical procedures like hysterectomies.

Women’s Issues:

The evolution of the SHGs in Bharatiyar Nagar has ensured that women contribute economically to their homes by learning, working and saving.Sophia from DESH and Dhanalakshmi from Annai Theresa are NGO workers whose efforts have paid off despite initial protests from the men.

The SHGs under Sophia contain a minimum of 20 women are there are eight such groups in Bharatiyar Nagar.The central idea is financial self-sufficiency and the aim is cumulative growth in savings.Women in these groups contribute Rs.100 a month which is deposited in a bank account in a nationalised bank in Adyar.Sophia is also involved in teaching these women,most of whom have just primary education on none at all,how to handle passbooks and transactions.Ambika Srinivasan,a SHG member is happy to acknowledge that they can now access a loan of Rs.80,000 with simply 0.75 percent interest on the strength of their savings.She is a tailor at an exports company but is sure that she can put her daughter through an architecture- diploma college.

These women are also very aware and articulate about problems.Ambika is unhappy that there is no ration shop nearby except at Neelankarai where there is often shortage of stock.The recent rains and resulting malaria and typhoid have exposed the need for a proper drainage system.M.Shanthi is indignant- “Why did they not divert the water to the Cooum like they promised?Now,our area along with the nearby slums in Rajendirar Nagar are inundated.We will ensure this does not happen again.”

Education:

There is a Government Hospital in Vetuvankanni with classes upto fifth standard.
Sasi,a class 10 student of St.Joseph’s school-also situated nearby, said that they are given mid-day meals and that she pays Rs.1500 per year.Her school has upto Class 12 for girls and class 10 for boys.

Durga Kanniappan ,her schoolmate and neighbour is unsure about studying beyond class 12.She felt that if she found a job soon,she would contribute to her five member family’s income.

Most of the youth have better access to education than their parents.Both daughters of T.V Sekar,an ex-official of the Panchayat Ward,for instance, are postgraduates.

Political affiliations and rain relief:

Political awareness in the area is slowly growing.While the womens SHGs are planning to choose a candidate for the next ward elections,the area is clearly demarcated based on supporters of Ettiappan and his detractors.This difference is more pronounced after the residents failed to received the rain relief grant of Rs.2000 and 10 kilos of rice as the Government had promised.

Ganesh,a driver blames the local leaders for letting the residents bear the brunt of their squabbles.He felt that since Ettiappan was not on good terms with the ruling party,the AIADMK,he had ignored their demands for relief. “He did not even come to see us once”,argued Sekhar,a mechanic.But Ettiappan remained unavailable for comment.

Conclusion:

While the recent rains have only exacerbated the lack of drainage and infrastructure, in the area, the more crucial problem here is that of people ignored by their leaders.

Some AIADMK supporters were quick to point out that M.C Munnusamy,Ettiappan’s main rival and opposition leader was able to co-ordinate better with his counterparts in the State Government.They claimed that Munnusamy provided drinking water thrice during the rains for free.The residents are fully aware that this will also affect their vote in the ward elections to be held next year.But they are certain that they will vote only for the leader who stands by them when they need him.

Another long-term question for these slum dwellers is of earning a stable livelihood and saving enough. Though they are not in danger of being evicted anytime soon , their effort at self improvement will need stronger support from their leaders.Till then, they will remain pawns of political tussles.