TIRUPPUR: Tribal people living in Kodanthur village, part of the Udumalaipet forest range in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), have requested that the state government construct new houses in place of dilapidated huts in their villages.
Sources said that there are 15 tribal settlements, including Kurumalai, Kodanthur, Kuzhipatti, and Mavadappu, in the Udumalai forest range. Around 130 families live in Kodanthur village. In this context, the villagers are concerned that their houses are in poor condition or that there is a shortage of houses.
T Rajendran, a villager of Kodanthur, said, “Most of the houses in our village are huts. Apart from that, there are fewer houses with tin roofs and some with cement sheet roofs. The side walls of these houses are built of mud and stones. Around 110 of these houses are currently in poor condition and during monsoon, we live in fear inside these houses. In addition to that, most of them residing here are farm labourers or some have temporary shops near Kodanthur kattalai mariamman temple and are earning peanuts by selling just a few items they collect from the forest area. So, we do not have the income to renovate our homes or build new ones whenever we want.”
Another villager, T Mariappan, said, “Many young people from our hamlet have gotten married, but they don’t have a separate house to live in. Earlier, if any of us got married, the forest department would give us 16 tin sheets to build a house. However, they have stopped doing that now. Therefore, considering the condition of our people, the government should take steps to build new houses.”
A senior ATR forest department official said, “A proposal has been sent to build 55 new houses in Kodanthur village in the first phase and we expect to get the funding for it soon. As most of them live in huts, we put up sheet roofs to some of the houses and the sheet improvement work was done by the forest department two years ago.”
“The official added, “Similarly, a proposal has been sent to build 65 houses in Thirumurthy tribal settlement.”