T.N. Assembly election 2026: Livelihood security, affordable housing cause of concern in Royapuram constituency

Royapuram faces urgent issues like livelihood security, affordable housing, and social welfare as residents prepare for the assembly election.

While Chennai District Election Officials were covering some inscriptions at Robinson Park in Royapuram, which was the location where the DMK was launched in 1949, local resident A. Putli, 50, was busy selling buttermilk and aloe vera for a livelihood.

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“Livelihood security is a major issue here,” she said. Ever since she learned that her father had named her after Mahatma Gandhi’s mother, she has been consistent in her commitment to a certain political ideology. But social welfare measures by the government are what matters the most for poor residents such as her in Royapuram Assembly constituency, where a significant number of voters belong to the socially weaker sections of society.

“I have received ₹1,000 under the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam. I am a beneficiary of the free bus scheme, Vidiyal Payanam. But I intend to vote for the candidate who will also resolve the housing problem in our area. A significant number of the electors in this constituency have to work hard every day for their livelihood. Our decision to vote will depend on welfare schemes that protect our dignity,” Ms. Putli said.

Many residents like her in the constituency have demanded dignified, affordable housing for the poor, while some want free house site patta. Many electors have also requested the government to redevelop the dilapidated houses of the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) to prevent their collapse, particularly along the coast, where corrosion is a major problem in reinforced cement concrete structures.

K. Sulakshana, a senior citizen residing along the constituency’s coastline, said 64 TNUHDB houses were in a dilapidated condition and had not been reconstructed. S. Prema, a resident in the vicinity of the old Corporation Maternity Hospital in ward 50, said: “We request the government to establish a modern maternity hospital in our area. Women in our locality used to visit the old maternity hospital near Anathai Kuppam. Now, that has been refurbished and converted into a clinic. We have to visit the RSRM Hospital for maternity related services.”