ST settlement in Vedaranyam marooned without power after heavy rains

Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, 29/11/2025: A section of Kattu Nayakkar families living inside an abandoned government veterinary hospital building in Vaimedu near Vedaranyam struggle without basic amenities, facing rainwater leakage and a three-day power cut. Photo: R Vengadesh / THE HINDU
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R. VENGADESH

An isolated Scheduled Tribe (ST) settlement of about 10 families in Vaimedu near Vedaranyam has been without power supply for the past two days, with rain water entering their makeshift dwellings and no basic services restored so far, residents said.

The families, all from the Kattu Nayakkar community, live in small tiled and tin-roof structures abutting the government veterinary clinic at Vaimedu. After the recent heavy rain water entered their cramped rooms and has remained stagnant in and around the settlement.

“We don’t have a house of our own, we don’t have any money. Sometimes we get work, sometimes we beg to survive,” said D. Nagooran, the community leader. “For two days there is no power, and we are removing the water from our rooms with our own hands. No one has come here,” he told The Hindu.

Residents T. Raja and S. Pushpavalli said the settlement had no proper road access, with slush and standing water cutting them off after every spell of heavy rain. Six school-going children live in the hamlet, but none currently attends school.

“Our children find it hard to adjust with other community students in the nearby schools. There is no one to guide us properly. So, they have stopped going,” Mr. Nagooran said, pointing to S. Sakthi, a Class I child, and others who now spend their days in the flooded courtyard.

Community members said they traditionally work as rat catchers in houses and agricultural fields, and some also sell plastic items in nearby villages. “Work is not regular, and now, with the rain, we have nothing,” a resident said.

The families were originally from Idumbavanam panchayat in Tiruvarur district and moved to Vaimedu about eight years ago, they said.

Official sources said the families have been issued house-site pattas, but acknowledged that they had not been able to construct permanent houses for want of resources. There was also hesitation among surrounding villages to accommodate them fully, one official admitted.