They were dozens of people, waiting near the place buses apparently stop. Neatly dressed in a shirt and lungi, they stepped into a bus destined to a far off locale. Agathis, somebody mumbled.
Halfway through the road, the reporters happened to meet K. Palanivel, a localite.
Walking along the Annai Indiranagar Street, with partially constructed houses on either side, Palanivel who owns a grocery shop speaks of the Thayagamthirumbiyapar, the repatriates from Sri Lanka.
"We are repatriates, not refugees," for the umpteenth time, he reiterated, what has become a lullaby to the ears deafened by the political prowess.
It all began at a time during the pre-independence period, when Indian labours were much needed in Sri Lanka to work on plantations. Close to five lakh people went to Sri Lanka and later many returned under the Shastri-Srimavo pact in the 1960s as the Sinhalese resented the growing population of Tamils.
Those who returned were resettled in different parts of Tamil Nadu including the places like Kodaikanal and Dindigul. In 1983, 225 families of these were settled by way of rehabilitation in the street which is under Thirumalapuram panchayat of the Theni district. Though provided 2.75 cents of land for each family, as it was thorayapatta, they couldn't avail any loans for the essential needs.
Thoraya patta is granted in order to impose tax and it cannot be used to confer title in whose name patta was acquired. It can be issued only to a person residing and enjoying the property upon its physical examination.
A cotton factory, Anna Co-operative mill was constructed by the government and a job was given to each of the families. But, as against the norm, the jobs were not provided to the deserved son/daughter of the retired/deceased factory worker later. "Even if one dies on the job, we are finding it difficult to get that job. Indeed, we have to fight for that", says S. Thiruselvam. Further, he points out the underlying corruption within the system as “They are giving the jobs to the one they like, by accepting bribe but not for us, who are deserved”.
With less than 30 people working in the factory, majority of them work as painters, construction labourers, security guards and contractors. Though they are eligible for the reservations under the repatriate quota, not even 2 % of them have received any benefits.
The people in the community have got all the necessary documents which include ration card, election identity card and aadhaar card. T. Karthikeyan, a contractor speaks of how even belonging to the Scheduled Cast category, they did not get Ilavasa patta, the free patta offered by the government as per the rules.
The community at the Annai Indiranagar is listed under the refugees instead of repatriates. This misnomer has taken away their rights over land though they have citizenship. The adversity is that, even then they are not receiving benefits under any category. The concerned authorities at the power conveniently ignores the woes of the people although appear shamelessly to secure their votes during the election time.
Over the years, the number of families in the street has doubled but as the land area is inadequate, the residents are finding difficulty in living there.
Though educational and medical facilities are available, scarcity of water is a major concern for the residents.
With less support from the government, the community still live there bearing the brunt of refugees.
