TIRUPPUR: Residents of Kurumalai, a tribal settlement, announced a boycott of the upcoming Assembly election if their demand to construct a road from the foothills of Thirumurthy Hills to their settlement is not met.
According to sources, there are over 15 tribal settlements, including Kurumalai, Kuzhipatti and Mavadappu in Udumalai Forest Range, which is under the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in Tiruppur district, and is home to about 1,300 families.
Around 150 families live in Upper Kurumalai and Lower Kurumalai settlements, and they have been demanding proper road facilities from the foothills of Thirumurthy Hills and have also conducted various protests.
With their pleas going unheard, the residents of these settlements have now decided to boycott the Assembly election.
V Thiruman, a resident from Kurumalai settlement, said, "Of these 15 settlements, eight settlements have mud roads connecting Udumalaipet-Chinnar road. It did not connect the remaining seven settlements. But there is an official road from Uppar Aliyar to the remaining seven settlements, including Kurumalai. But we have to travel 80 km to reach Udumalaipet through that road. If a road is constructed from the foothills of Thirumurthy to Kurumalai settlements for seven km, the people of these seven settlements can easily travel to Udumalaipet. This is why we are urging the state government and the forest department to construct a road here."
"Earlier, the district administration and Dhali town panchayat had taken steps to construct a mud road to Kurumalai settlements from the foothills. However, due to restrictions imposed by the forest department, works were hampered," he added.
Speaking to TNIE, B Rajesh, DFO of Tiruppur, said, "A person from Tiruppur filed a case against the construction of a road to the settlement, stating it could harm wildlife and the forest’s ecosystem. The case is under trial and therefore, we can do nothing in this regard currently. At the same time, we have obtained a sanction order to renovate the road leading from Kurumalai to Upper Aliyar. The works will begin soon.”