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Community Development

Plan to construct shelter for platform-dwellers

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The Hindu     01.11.2010

Plan to construct shelter for platform-dwellers

Special Correspondent
In Deter Line at a cost of Rs.10 lakh as per Supreme Court guidelines

VELLORE: The Vellore Corporation has decided to construct a night shelter for platform-dwellers in Deter Line here at a cost of Rs.10 lakh, as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court which has directed all local bodies in the country to ensure proper shelters including bathroom and toilet facilities, and food for such dwellers.

K.R. Selvaraj, Commissioner of the Corporation told TheHindu on Sunday that the work on the shelter would commence within a week. The Corporation would have a tie-up with a non-governmental organisation for the maintenance of the shelter and provision of food and vocational training to those in need of the same. As per the Supreme Court guidelines, the Corporation took a census of the platform-dwellers in the city. The census which was completed about four months ago, revealed that there about 110 platform-dwellers in Vellore.

In pursuance to the Supreme Court guidelines, the Tamil Nadu government has now asked the Vellore Corporation to conduct a fresh survey of the platform-dwellers. The questionnaire prepared by the government for the survey seeks to elicit information from the already covered platform-dwellers as well as new platform-dwellers on their physical and mental condition (whether they were physically or mentally challenged), their occupation if any, source of income for sustenance, whether they were living with family, whether they are in need of vocational training and whether they are capable of undergoing vocational training, their employability, and whether they required food. The staff of the Corporation have commenced the survey which would cover beggars, the physically and mentally challenged platform-dwellers as well as migrant and homeless workers and labourers.

 

Beggars taken to hospital

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The Hindu  18.10.2010

Beggars taken to hospital

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: A few beggars were removed from parts of Anna Salai and Royapettah and taken to Communicable Diseases Hospital, Tondiarpet, on Friday as part of Chennai Corporation's rehabilitation programme.

A total of 25 persons found begging near traffic signals on Anna Salai, near the Central railway station and Egmore were taken to the CDH for treatment.

Mayor M. Subramanian said the civic agency had so far removed 748 beggars from streets since April. They were also given food and clothes.

Reunited

While 119 of them were treated at Institute of Mental Health and government hospitals, 74 were reunited with relatives.

The remaining had been admitted to old age homes, he said.

Action would be initiated against persons who own a house and are found to be involved in beggary during festive days, he added.

Last Updated on Monday, 18 October 2010 05:54
 

Roadside hawkers flouting rules, reminds Mayor

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The New Indian Express    01.08.2010

Roadside hawkers flouting rules, reminds Mayor


 

CHENNAI: Residents of Indira Nagar’s 2nd Avenue are the latest in a long list to protest the Chennai Corporation’s decision to move street side hawkers to the footpath outside their homes.

They feel the move will lead to an overall deterioration in local calm and argue it would be against the Corporation’s plans to beautify the city.

Thankfully for them, Chennai Mayor M Subramanaian saw the resident’s point of view. He immediately asked officials to pick a different place for the relocation.

“The residents have a point. This maybe the fifth location we have settled on and then dropped,” the Mayor told Express.

On the reluctance of roadside hawkers at being relocated, the Mayor said, “We are building alternate spaces for roadside hawkers across the city. They might think about their businesses, but they have to remember they are flouting the rules by setting their shops up on footpaths.” The shopkeepers, on the other hand, complain at the potential loss of their livelihood.

“All the locations they propose to shift us are out of the way. The only thing shopkeepers can do there are gaze at each other,” said S Siva, a hawker of 35 years outside Thiruvanmiyur’s Jayanthi Theatre.

But he is quick to offer a solution. “We don’t want to move. We are very open to being regulated. Let the officials draw a line and we will not cross it. Then the pedestrians too will have enough footpath space. Everybody wins. But if the Corporation is still intent on relocating us, we have no option, do we?” said Siva.

Last Updated on Monday, 02 August 2010 09:21
 


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