NAGAPATTINAM: With floods isolating low-lying Erukkur in Sirkazhi, around 20 students have to splash their way through waterlogged road for a distance of 1.5 km to reach their school on the outskirts of the village.
Though schools have re-opened as the intensity of rains has decreased, students in many villages are struggling to make it to classes in time as they have to wade through stagnant water. The Erukkur students of a government middle school have to walk through dirty water because there are no road links.
Speaking to Express, Erukkur resident M Anbarasan said, “About 50 families involved in astrology have been residing here since 1942. In the last 70 years, there have not been any roads built in our village. We walk 1.5 km on a muddy footpath to reach the main road. When Sirkazhi received the highest rainfall this northeast monsoon season, our village was surrounded by floodwaters of depths up to five feet. Now that the rain has subsided, water levels are at 2.5 feet. Students and villagers have to walk through the dirty water daily because of the government’s failure to build infrastructure.”
When Express contacted a senior Sirkazhi taluk Revenue Department official, he said, “We have forwarded the petitions of the villagers to arrange for roads. The problem is some landowners are refusing to part with their land for building roads although they allow the villagers to use the narrow footpath.”