Even food is scarce for the Irulas of Kancheepuram

Residents of two settlements cannot afford vegetables as they don’t get work

Over the past two lockdowns, residents of two Irula settlements — Nariyamputhur and Vandivakkam — in Kancheepuram district have been barely surviving with rice from fair price shops. They have been able to stretch the rice for the whole month as they have only two meals a day. “It is always ‘puli’ or ‘kaara kozhambu’ since we cannot afford to buy vegetables as we do not get much work. Only some of us have the 100-day job scheme cards and get work for a few days a year. Earlier, we used to work on agricultural fields but now all that has stopped, which is why our men have turned to cutting trees and stones. If they get, they work as labourers in construction sites,” said Chandra of Nariyamputhur, who walks slowly with her grand-daughter holding her hand and guiding her through the rough terrain. Asked how long the 15-odd families have been living in the settlement, which is not near any other human inhabitation, she said, “My father-in-law came here before us and before him came his in-laws. Now, I live here with my children and their children.”