Burma Colony in Nandambakkam will soon be a non-address. More than 400 families there, mostly refugees from Myanmar who came here some 50 years ago, will be shifted to Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements in Perumbakkam.
CHENNAI: Burma Colony in Nandambakkam will soon be a non-address. More than 400 families there, mostly refugees from Myanmar who came here some 50 years ago, will be shifted to Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements in Perumbakkam.
S Manoharan, head of Burma Colony Association, said they were staying there since 1969. “93 families came to Nandambakkam from Gummidipoondi relief camp to work in India Cements foundry. Then MLA, M G Ramachandran, earmarked the present area after a fire destroyed our huts”. Manoharan said most in the colony were daily wagers. “Our children study in nearby schools. Now, government wants to shift us to outskirts”. “We are ready to move if they can provide housing in nearby areas.”
Another resident, M Kasinathan, said the government allotted land for them in Kannagi Nagar in 1988.
“But residents there didn’t allow us to build houses and the land has become a government school.” The government was ignoring politically backed encroachments along the river. “They are targeting us because we are a minority group.” A PWD official said the colony was on banks of Adyar which is prone to flooding. “We went to the colony for enumeration but residents didn’t cooperate.”
In September 2015, the National Human Rights Commission issued notice to Tamil Nadu, following reports of refugees from Myanmar left “wandering on the streets” of Chennai, looking for accommodation.