Big cities like Chennai, gave refuge and hope to desperate rural folks who came in search of a future. They settled along the Coovam river and wherever they could find some vacant spaces. The present Government came up with the idea of building Smart cities which mandated the eviction of slum dwellers to the suburbs of the city far away from the places of their work and studies. This resulted in alienation of slum dwellers from their own territory. Access to education and employment
became a nightmare overnight.