Irular tribals get land pattas after 5 years in Thiruttani

CHENNAI: After a five-year struggle, 20 families from the Irular tribal community were given pattas and land for housing in Thiruttani, in Tiruvallur district. Thanks to Thiruttani Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) M Sathya, they now have water supply and electricity, which they lacked all these years.

The Irular families had been living in thatched houses along a lake in T Pudur village, and have now shifted to the nearby Pattabiramapuram village. “Despite repeated requests to revenue officials here, they were not given basic sanitation facilities or electricity for years,” said M Tamilarasan, Tiruvallur district secretary of the State Tribal Association.

He added that the tribals were involved in cattle herding, daily wage jobs, and domestic chores. “They suffered severely during Cyclone Vardah as they lived near the Eri Kalvai. Their children have no educational support,” he said. 

But RDO Sathya, who assumed office in late 2020, took notice of their plight and promised to give them pattas soon, once an appropriate piece of land was identified, said Tamilarasan. Sathya told Express she met members of the community and interacted to learn about their problems.

“I promised to give them pattas, and we have now given them to 20 families in the first batch,” she said, adding that a few more families are on the list. She also said their new housing locality in Pattabiramapuram is very close to where they lived earlier, so they can continue their jobs. “We will also look into getting their children admitted to schools and implementing measures to uplift them,” she said.