Kakarla Usha, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, and G Laxmipriya, Secretary, Adi Dravida and Tribal Welfare, hand over eureka home keys to beneficiaries of tribal families in Chennai on Saturday. Balaji Sampath, Secretary, AID India, is present.
| Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ
M. Chitra is beyond happy as she finally has a house to study and sleep in. A nursing student from a tribal community in Tiruvannamalai district, Chitra recalls the hardship her family faced during monsoon seasons.
“There would be leaks all over our huts and water would enter our house. We would be wading in knee-deep water,” she said. But thanks to Aid India’s help, she now has a brick house with a bathroom and kitchen. Like Chitra, over 30 tribal families have built a house with Aid India’s help and received their keys to the house on Saturday in Chennai.
Speaking at the event titled “Toward 1,000 Eureka Homes”, Aid India secretary Balaji Sampath said, “The Eureka Homes initiative is not just about safe housing; it is also a turning point for each family.” The initiative was started after the 2015 Tamil Nadu floods as a movement to provide safe, permanent housing for the poorest and most vulnerable. So far, 886 houses have been constructed in 117 villages across Tamil Nadu.
Noting the amount of transformation Balaji and his team have brought, Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary Kakarla Usha said that the work is truly commendable. Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department Secretary G. Laxmi Priya said, “Special classes were conducted for children from the tribal community through the help of various NGOs, and due to this many children have pursued higher education in premier institutions such as IIT and NIT.”
Various performances by children and videos on the progress made in the villages were also showcased at the event.
Published – December 14, 2025 12:09 am IST
