Construction of 694 free houses for Sri Lankan Tamils in Tiruvannamalai district under way
The Hindu
Sri Lankan Tamils in Tiruvannamalai town to receive new houses with better facilities and safety, funded by the State.
After more than three decades of living in dilapidated single room houses with bare minimum facilities, Sri Lankan Tamils in the rehabilitation camp at Adi Annamalai village in Tiruvannamalai town, will get new houses soon. Work to construct free new houses for them by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) commenced on Thursday.
Accompanied by Collector K. Tharpagaraj, Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu laid the foundation stone to construct 60 new houses for Sri Lankan Tamils at Nallavanpalayam village. “The existing buildings at Adi Annamalai camp are leaky and weak. Most of the electrical fittings were also damaged over the years. New house will ensure better facilities and safety for our children,” said B. Valarmathi, a resident.
Officials of DRDA, which executes the work, said that of the total 941 free houses sanctioned for Sri Lankan Tamils in the district, work on 694 houses, including 60 houses at Nallavanpalayam, is under way. Each house, on an average, will cost ₹8.10 lakh for the State exchequer. The work will be completed in six months by DRDA, which executes the project in the district. Tiruvannamalai has the highest number of 12 camps with 1,111 families. Vellore, Tirupattur and Ranipet have two camps each. A total of 2,239 families have resided in these districts since 1990.
Some major areas in Tiruvannamalai where work for free houses has been taken up include Polur (280 houses), Kalasapakkam (160 houses), Tiruvannamalai (136 houses), Arani (111 houses) and Cheyyar (80 houses). Each house, which will be 291 sq.ft, will have a living room, bedroom, attached washroom and a kitchen. The new house comprises a free water connection and power supply. In addition, Over Head Tank (OHTs) will also be built in the camp.
The camp with new houses will also get a community centre, a common centre for children and a fair price shop. Approach roads to the camp area from the main road will also be re-laid. The initiative was launched by the Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin at a function in Vellore in November 2021.
On the occasion, K. Pitchandi, Deputy Speaker of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, and M. Gandhiraj, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, were present.
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