TIRUPATTUR: About 10,000 people of the Malayali tribe, a scheduled tribal community, at the popular tourist destination of Yelagiri Hills have been struggling for the past four years due to the extremely poor condition of the ring road connecting their villages.
Although there is a well-maintained main road from Athanavur to Thalayoor and to the villages of Kottayur, Punganur, and Mangalam, which host popular attractions like a boathouse, nature park, and trekking spots, access to 11 villages — Athanavur, Varakkottai, Kottur, Ezthunakalvattam, Pallakaniyur, Kelapparai Vattam, Mettukaniyur, Padanoor, Puthoor, Nilavoor, and Thayaloor — is fraught with loose gravel, huge potholes, making it especially dangerous on the sloped terrain.
The ring road also has several resorts and tourist destinations, including Ramakrishna Mutt, Malainachi Amman temple, and Thangakottai. The poor condition of the roads is affecting tourists as well and also leading to frequent accidents.
R Kali Gounder (74) of Kottur, said most residents are daily wage labourers in agriculture or construction, earning only 500 a day. “During health emergencies, autorickshaws sometimes demand the entire Rs 500 for just a 3 km ride. For the medical costs, we then have to borrow.”
The area has only one primary health centre, serving all 14 villages. While it addresses basic needs, emergencies such as snake bites, dog bites, and deliveries require a 25-kmtrip to Tirupattur GH, but villagers report that autorickshaws or ambulances do not come due to the poor road conditions.
E Rahilent Ebens, principal of a private school, who has also petitioned authorities over the issue, said, “The wear and tear on vehicles lead to autorickshaws charging Rs 300 to Rs 400 for just 3 km.” Auto driver G Selvaraj added, “For every Rs 100 fare, I lose Rs 75 on petrol.” K Susi, a mother with a student in a residential school, said, “I experience severe body pain every time we travel on these interior roads and our car gets heavily damaged on every trip.”
An official from the District Rural Development Agency, Tirupattur, confirmed a proposal has been submitted to upgrade the roads to “Other District Roads” (ODR) and hand them over to the state highways department, but approval from the head office in Chennai is still pending. Meanwhile, state highway officials said they are ready to address the issues once the roads are officially transferred to them.