DHARMAPURI: The blistering heat in Dharmapuri drains every ounce of energy out of the commuters at the old bus stand. Some turn to the local tea shop, where 29-year-old S Poomani, a graduate, is busy stirring milk with a ladle and serving hot tea to waiting customers.
For Poomani, this has been a part of his daily struggle – a choice he made after countless job applications to companies big and small had gone in vain. He ended up with the tea stall, inherited from his father.
“I have at least this. Many of my friends, after many rejections, are still jobless. Many moved out of town to work as labourers despite completing graduation. My 27-year-old brother, with a diploma in mechanical engineering, is working at Hosur for a pay that is barely enough to sustain him. Though I have land, there is no water for cultivation,” he says.
Like Poomani, many in Dharmapuri face unemployment and water scarcity. “My 23-year-old brother is working in Bengaluru as an earth mover operator. He wanted to farm our six-acre land. But with poor rains, the wells dry faster than they fill up. We even invested in a borewell, but that too failed. With debts mounting, we have to choose between odd jobs,” says M Selvaraj from Nagarkoodal.
Dharmapuri and Nallampalli have a net sown acreage of about 14,728 acres and 20,478 acres, respectively. “During the summer, a major portion of these lands is used for fodder, because we cannot cultivate anything else,” says S Senthilkumar from Pidimaneri. The nearly 18 PWD lakes (spread over 100 acres) which are life sources for farms are dried; over exploitation of groundwater took its toll on the land.
In urban areas, poor town planning and lack of drainage have made pollution swell. As per municipality data, over 35 tonnes of waste are generated in the 33 wards. Poor waste management in other areas such as Elakkiyamapatti, Adhiyamankottai, Haledharmapuri and Chettikarai in turn affects waterbodies.
Drinking water is another critical issue. V Umamaheshwari from Bharathipuram says the drinking water supplied to residences is insufficient and unsafe. “We believe we get water (from the Hogenakkal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project) that is filtered of all harmful substances but that is not the case; every residence in the municipality has to spend at least `40,000 to `50,000 to replace our pipelines, because of salt deposits. This, in the long run, also causes health complications.”
The Vanniyar community constitutes nearly half of the voters in Dharmapuri and plays a crucial role in deciding victory here. It is followed by the Adi Dravidars at 14% and the Mudaliyar, Naidu, Chettiyar, Kongu Vellalar Gounder, Muslim, and Christian communities at 4% to 5% each.
The PMK, which has a base among Vanniyars, has fielded party president Anbumani Ramadoss’s wife Sowmiya Anbumani in the constituency as part of the AIADMK-led NDA instead of its sitting MLA S P Venkateshwaran. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Sowmiya lost to DMK candidate A Mani by a margin of 21,300 votes.
The DMK has allotted the seat to the DMDK, which has fielded the party’s presidium chairman, Dr V Elangovan. Elangovan lost from Tiruchy in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Others in the fray are TVK district secretary M Sivan, NTK candidate Santhalakshmi, and Aanaithinthiya Jananayaka Pathukappu Kazhagam’s (PMK founder S Ramadoss’s faction) A Saravanan. PMK has won here in 2001, 2006, and 2021, but lost in 2011 to the DMDK and in 2016 to the DMK.
Dr R Senthil, former Lok Sabha MP of Dharmapuri belonging to the PMK, says his party has a vision for the constituency. “Be it the Hogenakkal WS & FM Project, the Thoppur Ghat Road or Morappur - Dharmapuri railway line, the voice of the PMK has been directing Dharmapuri towards development.
Our next focus is to improve employment opportunities. We need a model like in Tiruppur where local people can be trained into industrialists driving the state and district forward,” he says. Talking about setbacks caused by the party founder’s faction contesting here, Senthil avers that the PMK vote will not split.
The TVK, NTK, and the Aanaithinthiya Jananayaka Pathukappu Kazhagam have also fielded Vanniyar candidates. The DMDK, in a first, has fielded a non-Vanniyar candidate in a bid to consolidate votes from all other communities.
Expressing confidence about the party’s prospects, DMDK Dharmapuri constituency in-charge T K Vijay Venkatesh says the Vanniyar votes will not entirely go to the PMK. “Due to two factions in the race, the PMK is weak, and there is dissatisfaction among party workers.”
“Unlike Sowmiya or other candidates, Dr Elangovan will be in the constituency, which will be a huge advantage,” adds DMDK’s weavers wing functionary S Devadevan.