MAYILADUTHURAI: Perambur, a village in Kollidam, has kept its century-old vow of silence, no firecrackers, no burning of waste to protect hundreds of bats roosting in a sprawling banyan tree, located a kilometre away from the residential area. But the very tree that gave the village its identity has now become a point of quiet conflict among the villagers. While some residents want to promote the "bat grove" as an eco-tourism site to generate local jobs, others fear that drawing crowd could disturb the fragile ecosystem they have protected for generations.
The villagers even consider the bats sacred. B Karthi, a local farmer, said, "We don't want to lose the village's identity. Even a little bit of smoke or noise will hurt the bats." Brema Palani (48), who moved to the village from Salem after marriage, said she has not burst a firecracker in 25 years. "It's not a restriction, but a tradition. We've all learned to respect it," she said.
Despite the growing popularity among birdwatchers and tourists, the site has little to no road access, besides travelling by foot through knee-deep muddy fields and a three-foot-wide muddy path. The villagers claimed that a mud road to the site was destroyed when local farmers expanded their fields. "We have been asking officials to restore the road," said a farmer.
Sirkazhi Forest Range Officer B Ayub Khan said, "Laying a road straight to the tree will cause noise pollution. A better idea would be to build a road till 500 metres to the site and establish an observatory zone for visitors and researchers." The officer, however, added that no such plan has been drawn up yet, and any move would require talks with local landowners. For now, the village continues to choose silence over spectacle.