2 months ago
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A banner bearing the message, “Lay road, question votes”, displayed astatine the entranceway of Sundapur colony successful the Bargur Hills underscores the residents’ long-pending request for a motorable road.
For generations, villagers person struggled with a six-kilometre agelong of the gravel-protruding road, with their basal request for all-weather connectivity remaining unmet.
Home to implicit 150 Lingayat families, Sundapur mostly depends connected tiny landholdings for subsistence, portion respective residents question to the plains for work. Located astir 6 km from the Thamaraikarai–Bargur Road, the colony tin beryllium accessed lone by traversing a 3-km wood way done the Thamaraikarai Reserve Forest successful the Bargur Range, followed by different 3-km agelong nether the Bargur panchayat successful Anthiyur Union. It falls nether the Anthiyur Assembly constituency.
Except for a one-km tar roadworthy laid by the panchayat respective years ago, the remaining 5 km is successful a dilapidated condition, making commuting arduous. “Only gravel protrudes, and crossing the wood agelong is simply a nightmare,” said P. Bomman, a resident. He added that exigency services stay inaccessible. “108 ambulances cannot scope the village. Pregnant women and patients are carried successful cloth cradles to the main road, from wherever they are taken to hospitals. We person sought lone a motorable roadworthy for years, but our petitions and protests person not yielded results,” helium said.
Residents said the concern worsens during the rainy season, erstwhile escaped gravel becomes slippery, rendering adjacent walking hazardous. “That is wherefore we person decided to boycott the predetermination to property for our sole demand,” said Moorthy, different resident. Basic supplies, including LPG cylinders and indispensable commodities, are inactive transported arsenic headloads, reflecting the deficiency of infrastructure, helium added.
A roadworthy task was sanctioned nether the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Phase III (2020–21, Batch I) astatine an estimated outgo of ₹2.82 crore. In 2021, a contractor was issued a enactment bid to laic a 3-metre-wide roadworthy for 3 km done the forest, conception 11 culverts, and physique six retaining walls. However, the declaration was aboriginal cancelled.
Subsequently, support was sought from wood authorities to widen the roadworthy to six metres. In a connection dated March 10, 2022, the past District Forest Officer (DFO), Erode Division, noted that the projected agelong passed done reserve wood land, wherever the disposable close of mode was lone 2.74 metres, arsenic against the requested six metres.
The serviceman besides observed that support nether Section 3(2) of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, could beryllium granted lone if the diverted onshore benefited tribal communities. “The projected attack roadworthy does not service a tribal settlement,” the missive stated, declining approval.
Authorities suggested that wood clearance could alternatively beryllium sought nether Section 2 of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. While astir 18,000 sq. m. is required for the project, lone 8,100 sq. m. is available. To code this, 10,000 sq. m. of compensatory onshore has been identified and an exertion submitted online. The Centre has granted in-principle support for diversion of 1.494 hectares of wood land, and last clearance is awaited.
V.P. Gunasekaran of the Tamil Nadu Tribal Peoples’ Association said the concerns of marginalised residents stay unaddressed. “Their lone request indispensable beryllium fulfilled,” helium said. The colony has 334 electors.
