On 14th January 2022, around 100 shops were demolished. The shops occupied a square lying in between the Wimco Nagar railway station and the metro station in North Chennai. The shops were built illegally on land that was owned by ITC. ITC is a conglomerate worth more than fifty billion dollars The Indian government bought the land from ITC with the stated goal of building a subway underneath the level crossing going across the railway tracks.
More than a year has passed since the demolition, and the subway construction is yet to commence. Vendors whose shops were demolished got vague promises of relocation, but it looks unlikely that they will get anything. As the months passed, some of them started running their shops on the street.
On 3rd February 2023, I talked to Sarassu, one of the vendors who lost her shop. She had a vegetable shop. Post-demolition, her shop consisted of a wooden platform that she had set up on the street. She sat under an umbrella propped up by some stones on the ground.
 |
| Sarassu adjusting the umbrella above her shop |
