COIMBATORE: Muruganpathi and Ayyanpathi, twin Irula tribal settlements in Madukkarai Block at the foothills of the Western Ghats, are home to around 100 families. But the hamlets continue to struggle without basic road and transport facilities causing its younger generations to drop out from school.
A dried-up stream cuts across the easy route to the villages, and the road remains incomplete. This has prevented public transport from entering the area.
Muruganpathi has a government primary school with over 20 children. But after Class V, students must travel around 3 km to Navakkarai for middle school, and older students travel around 5 kms to Mavuthampathi for high school. Due to the lack of roads and public transport, many children are unable to continue. Some have dropped out and taken up agricultural labour, villagers worried.
Muruganpathi falls under Maavuthampathi Village Panchayat and Ayyanpathi comes under Navakkarai Town Panchayat. The villages are connected via Ettimadai, but that route doubles both the distance and the travel time. Residents are demanding a road on the existing shorter route that directly connects Muruganpathi to Mavuthampathi and the Salem-Kochi National Highway.
"Only those with two-wheelers can take their children to school. If the road is improved and bus service provided, children here will go to school easily. The area is prone to wild animals crossing, especially elephants. Amid these risks, we walk. Now we are forced to depend on auto rickshaws, spending our entire wages on transport. That's why dropouts are inevitable," said a villager.
Parents said they are scared to send children to school on foot. They alleged that even ambulances cannot reach the villages during emergencies and the situation worsens during rains.
According to panchayat sources, a `4.7 crore road project was prepared by the Highways Department in 2021 but was dropped, citing low population. They urged the State Highways Department to revive the project.
"We also demanded bus service via the Ettimadai route. We submitted our demands for road connectivity and bus facility to Minister K Vignesh during his visit in July and he assured immediate temporary measures for the road. The village also provided a four-wheeler under 'Mahalir Thittam' for emergencies," said a local body source.
Villagers pointed out two major hurdles- a dried-up stream and two railway crossings. The path to Muruganpathi goes under the railway tracks and across the stream for a few meters, making it unusable.
A senior official from the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department said the issues would be looked into and assured that steps would be taken to resolve them at the earliest.