Powerless, sleepless in Jeeva Nagar

Coimbatore: Teachers of G Iyyapan, a Class X student, were worried after the youngster, one of the best students, began to fail class tests. He was always depressed, had sore eyes and had lately become short-tempered.
When they confronted him, Iyyapan opened up about his troubles. A resident of Jeeva Nagar near Kavundampalayam, he was forced to study under street lights along with tens of other students, after the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) disconnected power to the households in the locality two weeks ago.
TNEB had disconnected power at the behest of the city corporation, which had named the residents encroachers. Eviction notices were issued to 252 families. But half of them refused to vacate and now live without electricity.
The families are spending sleepless nights on the roads as snakes and other reptiles have taken refuge in the darkened houses, said R Kanchana, another student. “All of us spend nights on the road, braving mosquito bites and speeding vehicles. We don’t sleep a wink and go to schools with swollen eyes. My teacher was kind enough to give me additional time to prepare for the exams,” she told TOI.
The situation has affected their parents also. “Our children are failing in exams and our businesses have also taken a hit,” said 63-year-old D Jayalakshmi, who has been selling wire bags she makes along with her daughter. “We used to weave 10 to 14 bags a week but now find it difficult to make even half as there is no light. The family income has come down drastically. It is not possible to do the work after 6pm. There are only two street lamps near the locality. Our children do homework there. We do not want to disturb them.”
The residents are being targeted, said AL Raja, president of the Jeeva Nagar Residents Welfare Association. “We are not encroachers. Each of us had paid over Rs 1.5lakh in instalments to the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) after they assured to give us patta for the land. TNSCB had signed agreements with us in 1989. We have the documents with us. We had paid property tax until last year. If we are encroachers, why did they collect the tax from us? This is our land and we will not move out of our houses,” he said.
TNSCB had given the residents Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 as loan in 2014 to convert the huts into concrete houses, Raja said. “We paid Rs 80,000 to settle the loan along with the interest. Our livelihood would be at stake if we shift to the TNSCB apartments in Keeranatham as most of us work as labourers in and around the locality for meagre wages. If they want to lay road, they should take the required land from us and let us live in the remaining area or provide us alternative accommodation around the locality,” he said.
Corporation officials were not available for comment.