The havoc unleashed by the torrential downpour resulted in the collapse of 16 mud houses of the Irular community. As many as 25 members, including 11 children and nine women, of the Irular community whose houses collapsed in the rain were moved to safety and are lodged at a nearby tuition centre.
In Banglamedu, Tiruttani, 68 families live in the Irular Colony. Of them, 16 families reside in mud houses.
“The mud houses collapsed on Saturday. We have been sheltered at the tuition centre for three days now. The government and an NGO arranged provisions and sleeping facilities. This situation recur every year during rain, with water stagnating up to one-and-a-half feet,” said one of the persons moved to the temporary shelter.
Many of the Irular families in Tiruttani have received pattas, and were able to build asbestos sheet houses with the help of a non-governmental organisation (NGO). However, a few of the families were unable to afford it.
The State government has promised compensation to the families whose houses were collapsed in the rain.
