Latest news with #TamilNaduUrbanHabitatDevelopmentBoard


The Hindu
5 days ago
- The Hindu
Tambaram police launch counselling centre for vulnerable children
Tambaram City Police has set up a counselling centre named 'Thalaraadha Thalirgal' in Perumbakkam, as part of a new initiative 'Perumabakkam Experiment' aimed at protecting vulnerable children in the resettlement cluster. The centre is designed to provide appropriate care and rehabilitation for children who are victims of sexual offences or affected by drug abuse. This centre functions from the Block No 30 of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board(TNUHDB), in Perumbakkam. The centre's primary objective is to provide psychological and emotional support to the affected children and their families are treated in a safe and respectful manner. 'Perumabakkam Experiment' initiative by Tambaram City Police Commissioner Abin Dinesh Modak focuses on crime reduction and providing better livelihood to the people who are living in resettlement tenements. Mr. Modak said this counselling centre works in close coordination with the District Child Welfare Committee(CWC), the district unit of Social Welfare Department and non-government organisations. It aims to offer a stress free environment and a child friendly approach for the children. A senior police officer explained the purpose of setting up a such centre said, 'We have been seeing the incidents of children are being affected by different kinds of abuse such as sexual or drug in resettlement tenements in Kannagi Nagar, Perumbakkam and Semmanchery.' Assistant Commissioner of Police Vaishnavi said reporting of abuse were initially low, but awareness campaigns have helped children gradually come forward through Child Helpline. 'Now we have a centre with good ambience. Any child with any issue can walk in and children who are connected with cases also will be given counselling. There will be follow-up. Additionally NGOs are taking tuition classes in this area and children may come through them to this centre. It is victim centric counselling centre. We expect crime to reduce in the area due to this initiative.' Police personnel have been trained in standard operating procedures to support victims seeking counselling or other assistance. Counselling is provided by a senior counsellor from the department of Social Welfare. Post-trauma support is also extended to parents and guardians to help them cope. The centre maintains a child-friendly environment that ensures privacy and safety. Awareness programmes and counselling are provided against drug abuse and sexual abuse. Tambaram City Police has called on parents, teachers, NGOs and community leaders to participate in spreading awareness about the centre and to refer children in need of protection and support. 'This new initiative underscores that the strong commitment of police department to ensure justice and protection for affected children,'said Mr. Modak.


New Indian Express
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Seven years on, Meenambal Sivaraj Nagar residents protest delay in housing allotment in Chennai
CHENNAI: Seven years after their original homes were demolished here, nearly 70 residents of Meenambal Sivaraj Nagar near Basin Bridge staged a road roko on Wednesday, urging the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) to immediately hand over the newly constructed tenements. The protest comes after an alleged delay in the inauguration of the houses despite the construction being completed and tokens issued to eligible families last year. Residents claim that the only thing preventing them from moving in is the pending formal inauguration by Chief Minister M K Stalin. In the meantime, they say they are burdened with rising rents. According to the protesters, their families have lived in the area for six generations, originally in huts. In 1974, under then chief minister M Karunanidhi, 176 families were allotted houses under TNUHDB. Over time, the population in the area grew to accommodate over 230 families. In 2019, during the previous AIADMK government, the dilapidated buildings were demolished, and families were given temporary allotment orders for the new tenement along with a one-time ex gratia payment of Rs 8,000. They were assured that new homes would be ready within two years. The project to construct 308 homes (Stilt+11-storeys) was awarded to a private contractor in 2020 at an estimated cost of Rs 40.14 crore, with a deadline of 18 months. However, construction was only completed in 2024. Despite the distribution of tokens last year, residents have not been permitted to move in.


New Indian Express
28-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Fire guts 20 huts in MKB Nagar; homeless families seek aid, housing
CHENNAI: Kanaga B, 48, is homeless and burdened with debt, as she has lost not only her house, but also Rs 50,000 in cash that she had borrowed at a steep 15% interest. She is one among the many families whose lives and livelihoods have been affected by the fire that swept through Sathiya Murthy Nagar Main Road in MKB Nagar on Monday evening. Kanaga, who lives alone in a makeshift house and earns a living by selling appalam, pickles, and semiya (vermicelli) on city streets, had returned from work at a wedding hall to find her home engulfed in flames. The fire, reportedly triggered by an electrical short circuit in one of the huts, rapidly spread through the densely packed settlement, gutting at least 20 huts. 'All I had is gone - clothes, appliances, vessels, and the money I borrowed just a few days ago. I don't know how to repay the debt now,' said Kanaga, speaking from a government school in Udhayasuriyan Nagar where she has taken temporary shelter along with other victims. Every day, Kanaga would walk to the wholesale markets in Parrys Corner near Broadway, purchase a jute bag of appalam, or semiya, and sell them on foot in the streets. A single bag of ragi semiya costs her around Rs 1,600, for which she needed loans. 'The money burnt along with the appalam I had bought for selling,' she told TNIE. The hutment stood on a private piece of land that was occupied 18 years ago. While officials said that the land had been encroached by families, residents had requested Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board houses.


Time of India
25-05-2025
- Time of India
Tambaram cops launch ‘back to college' programme for disadvantaged students
Chennai: To curb crime and promote education, the Tambaram police have launched an outreach programme at Perumbakkam to assist economically disadvantaged students in pursuing higher education. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Perumbakkam houses more than 20,000 families resettled by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB). With most residents are daily wage earners or low-income workers, many children, due to financial constraints, drop out after completing Class XII and some turn to crime or substance abuse, police say. To break this cycle, Tambaram police commissioner Abin Dinesh Modak asked police personnel to identify students who completed Class XII and are willing to study further. "Our officers will help them with the application process, documentation, and coordinate with colleges to ensure they are not left behind due to financial or social barriers," said a senior officer. Police teams are going street by street with public address systems and visiting homes to spread awareness about this opportunity. Special evening camps will be set up in the Perumbakkam TNUHDB housing complexes, where students can submit college application copies, Class XII certificates, and mark sheets for guidance and assistance. "We believe that empowering youth with education is the most effective way to reduce crime and build a better society," said a senior officer overseeing the programme. "We are not just enforcing law and order — we're investing in the future of these communities," he added. Residents and local leaders have welcomed the initiative. "For years, our children have struggled to go beyond school. This support from the police gives us new hope," said Meenakshi, a resident of Perumbakkam. Students interested in availing themselves of the support have been urged to attend the upcoming police-organized camps with their documents.

The Hindu
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Speaker, Tirunelveli Collector review progress of ongoing development schemes of Radhapuram constituency
Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu and District Collector R. Sukumar inspected 7 major ongoing development works in the Radhapuram Assembly constituency on Wednesday. Mr. Appavu and Dr. Sukumar inspected the construction of Valliyoor government hospital, apartments with 506 units being built by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board, Valliyoor Bus-Stand, Valliyoor Market, drinking water project for Kalakkad municipality and 7 town panchayats, another drinking water project costing ₹609 crore for 831 villages in Radhapuram Assembly constituency and groyne construction at Kootapuli at the cost of ₹48.50 crore. The Valliyoor Government Hospital, situated advantageously close to the four-lane national highway, is being built at the cost of ₹30 crore with four modern operation theatres, CT scan facilities and geriatric ward. The upcoming hospital will have all modern facilities to ensure better medical care to the patients. The ground floor of the hospital will have all clinical diagnostic services, CT scan, digital X-ray, ultrasound scan, ECG, general medicine, paediatric, gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, psychiatry and dermatology departments and the kitchen for preparing food for the patients. Facility for post-mortem is also being created separately on this campus. The first floor will house in-patient wards, post-operative care ward, dialysis etc. The intensive care units, four operation theaters, tuberculosis ward, de-addiction ward, HIV treatment ward and geriatric ward will be created in the second floor. 'While the geriatric ward is a common feature in a medical college hospital in the modern medicine, for the first time, a geriatric ward is being created in a government hospital for benefiting the senior citizens of Valliyoor and its surroundings. The officials concerned have been instructed to complete the work at the earliest. We expect the Valliyoor government hospital to be ready to receive patients from September this year,' Mr. Appavu hoped. Apart from the hospital, a round the clock, Public Health Laboratory on an outlay of ₹1 crore, which will be vital cog in Department of Public Health's disease surveillance programme, is also coming up on the premises. The upcoming clinical lab will be a boon to the patients from Valliyoor and other areas up to Radhapuram, Thisayanvilai, Nanguneri, Kalakkad and Pazhavoor since a range of microbiological, biochemistry and pathology investigations can be done here. Hence, the lab is expected to play vital role in prevention and control of epidemic-prone diseases in this region. The lab will provide services such as stool culture, blood culture, operation theatre swab analysis, bacteriological analysis of drinking water, serology / ELISA for dengue, chikungunya, viral hepatitis (A and E), measles, leptospirosis, scrub typhus etc. The Speaker, after inspecting the ongoing construction of the Valliyoor bus-stand on an outlay of ₹12.13 crore and the reconstruction of the market at the cost of ₹6.03 crore, reviewed the progress of the groyne construction at Koottapuli. Mr. Appavu and the Collector gave much importance to the early completion of the two drinking water projects meant for Radhapuram Assembly constituency being implemented at the cost of ₹609 crore and the other one costing ₹423.13 crore for Kalakkad municipality and Nanguneri, Ervadi, Moolaikaraipatti and Thirukkurungudi town panchayats, all falling under Nanguneri Assembly constituency, and Valliyoor, Thisayanvilai and Panagudi town panchayats in Radhapuram Assembly segment. 'Both the projects should be expedited and commissioned at the earliest even though December-end is the deadline,' said Mr. Appavu. Even as Mr. Appavu and Dr. Sukumar were inspecting the ongoing construction of the Valliyoor bus-stand, they had to encounter the Valliyoor town panchayat's inefficiency as around 100 residents of Kottaiyadi in ward 18 of the urban civic body heaped their complaints in front of them. The residents complained that they were not getting drinking water in sufficient quantity even as other parts of Valliyoor were ensured decent supply. Moreover, the roads in this area were in pathetic shape, they said. The Speaker and the Collector immediately asked the officials of Valliyoor town panchayat to address these complaints and submit the compliance report within a week.