Coimbatore: Even as memes on elections bringing the smell of 'tar' on to the streets are doing the rounds on social media, for two tribal hamlets located in the Anaikatti Hills, the smell of 'tar' is a faraway dream.
Coimbatore: Even as memes on elections bringing the smell of 'tar' on to the streets are doing the rounds on social media, for two tribal hamlets located in the Anaikatti Hills, the smell of 'tar' is a faraway dream. The road that connects them to the mainland has not been laid properly for over a decade now.
More than 100 families live in the hamlets of Chinna Jambugandi and Kootupulikadu, situated 30 kms away from the city. Their only means of access to and fro, from their hamlets to the Anaikatti main road is a road filled with rubble making it a bumpy ride for travellers. These 100 families – 40 from Kootupulikadu and 60 from Chinna Jambugandi – depend on these roads for commuting to the city.
However, the roads that connect Kootupulikadu via Chinna Jambugandi settlement and directly to Alameramedu respectively, have made commuting an arduous task. These roads are also the only means of connection to a Horticulture farm run by the State Government.
“Despite it being the only connecting road, the condition of it is so bad that we tend to reduce using it and stay out during lunch time,” said N Vellingiri, an auto rickshaw driver who lives in Chinna Jambugandi. Claiming that people keep falling over, on the bitumen road that was laid a decade ago, he added that the rubble put on the road to allow the laying of a new road makes things more difficult for school-going kids.
"Those who do not have vehicles need to walk on this 1 km road stretch to reach the main road. Even the polling booth for the villagers at Jambugandi is closer to the main road. If this situation persists, people will suffer much on the polling day,” opined another resident in the area.
Reacting to the issue raised by the residents of the two tribal hamlets, Ruban Shankar Raj, Project Director of the District Rural Development Agency said that a proper bitumen road would be laid as soon as possible.