Tension gripped Pachuranmalai near Coonoor and Police were posted in strength to avoid any eventuality as TANTEA workers have been observing a fast condemning against the prevailing practice of manually carrying the sick in cradles tied to bamboo poles to nearby hospitals in Coonoor.
Even after 70 years of independence the primitive practice of carrying sick in the clothe cradles continues to this day, thanks to lack of road facility to Pachuranmalai say the TANTEA estate workers, who live in Pachuranmalai.
Hundreds of tea estate workers live in this secluded pocket and when somebody falls ill, they are forced to carry the sick all the way to the nearby hospital in Coonoor all year around and they have to tackle the hilly terrain to do this.
“We are forced to carry the sick, as the authorities have failed to lay roads to the Pachuranmalai depite many pleas. Hundreds of tea estate worker families live and work here in TANTEA estates, which is owned by the Tamilnadu Government.
"Many lives have been lost due to this inaccessibility to hospitals and we lose precious time before reaching the hospital. The children and aged are the most affected" the estate workers said.
The TANTEA workers have sworn to continue with the fasting until the authorities lay new roads to the remote Pachuranmalai.