DHARMAPURI: A minor land slip happened in Sitheri due to soil erosion on Sunday, leaving the residents worried. This is the third soil erosion on the hill road in the last 20 days. The residents have urged the district administration to find a permanent solution to the issue.
Sitheri is a tribal habitation in Pappireddipatti taluk with over 63 tiny villages and a population of about 28,000 people. The people use the 30km roads between Harur and Sitheri to go to work, hospital, etc. Due to the impact of the cyclone, soil erosion has been happening frequently, with a portion of the roads being washed away. On Sunday, a third landslip had occurred in the hills sending the locals into panic.
Speaking to TNIE, S Venkatesh from Arasanatham said, “After the second landslip 17 days ago, the Block Development Office widened the roads and strengthened the area with sandbags. This allowed milk vehicles and buses to move slowly. On Sunday, we had a minor rainfall but a portion of the roads and sandbags were washed away. This has left us scared.”
Another resident P Alagesan from Sitheri said, “This is the main road leading out of the panchayat, we need immediate intervention.
The buses passing through here daily are under threat. The poor drainage on the roads leads to the under-soil of the road being washed away. The continuous rainfall caused soil erosion here. A similar situation is occurring in the Sitheri - Mannur road.”
TNIE attempted to reach out to officials in the Pappireddipatti BDO office but they were not available.