DHARMAPURI: Residents of Molaiyanur panchayat in Pappireddipatti have urged the Dharmapuri district administration to take steps to improve mobile reception in their panchayat, by setting up more cellphone towers to improve communication.
Molaiyanur panchayat in Pappireddipatti taluk has dozens of villages, including Mullikadu, Ponnaiyanur, Devrajapalayam and the Sri Lankan refugee camp, among other villages, and over 90% of the residents are tribals.
However, development in the region has been crippled due to the lack of mobile reception. Residents said, "The lack of mobile reception not only impacts our daily life, but also impacts the education of the children here."
Speaking to TNIE, B Asir from the village said, "Our villages are located only about 2 km from the taluk headquarters, but the hills surrounding our villages block mobile reception. Hence, we are unable to get any mobile reception. We all have smartphones, but there is no way to use them efficiently. We need more cellphone towers."
R Tamilarasan, a college student, said, "Most of our college projects or assignments require comprehensive research. But since our village lacks proper network coverage, we travel to the nearby village of Venkatasamuthiram to access the internet on our phones. Access to emergency services such as the police, fire or ambulance is also curtailed.
Even ration supply is sometimes hindered." Officials in the revenue department said, "We will make a note of this complaint and investigate after the election results on May 4."