COIMBATORE: Ponnandampalayam, a small village in Coimbatore district, has a bizarre position: boundaries of four local bodies intersect here, but they also overlap with the boundaries of Avinashi and Sulur Assembly constituencies, as well as those of the Coimbatore and Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituencies.
For around 300 families residing in Ponnandampalayam there is neither pride nor gain from this odd situation as they have to face numerous administrative complications, especially to access even basic facilities; hence, they demand the incorporation of the village under one local body, the Kaniyur panchayat which is part of the Sulur Assembly constituency.
Locals reason that most areas of the village is within the Kaniyur limits, where basic amenities are available. They are continuing their protest to bring their village into the Kaniyur panchayat.
Most of the residents of Ponnandampalayam, located on the Thennampalayam-Annur road, primarily depend on factories and industries for their livelihood. The number of migrant workers here is comparable to that of the local population.
The village falls under four local body administrations: Moppiripalayam town panchayat, Kaniyur, Arasur, and Naranapuram village panchayats. There are only about seven streets in total, and most of them are within the Kaniyur panchayat limits, with around 650 voters in around 200 houses.
Among the rest, a few houses fall under the Arasur panchayat. In the Naranapuram panchayat (which comes under the Avinashi assembly constituency), there are about 100 voters, and the remaining 150 people in 30 houses are under the Moppiripalayam town panchayat.
T Senthilkumar, who resides in the Moppiripalayam town panchayat area, narrated the civic issues plaguing Ponnandampalayam despite the potential benefits under multiple administrative and electoral divisions.
“Drinking water from the Avinashi-Athikadavu project is supplied properly in the areas under the Kaniyur and the Arasur panchayats. At the same time, severe water scarcity prevails within the Moppiripalayam town panchayat areas and the Naranapuram panchayat boundaries. The areas that fall under Moppiripalayam get drinking water only once in 25 days. We purify borewell water for drinking,” he said.
Councillor P Sivakumar, who has been continuously fighting to bring this village under the Kaniyur panchayat, said that this division creates confusion among the local bodies in providing basic facilities, and thus affects the people.”
“Even after fighting for more than 20 years, the government has not taken any action. As a result, many people opened bank accounts in the Kaniyur branch, presented themselves as residents of Kaniyur, and used that to change their other documents to the Kaniyur panchayat as well,” added Sivakumar.
Another resident said on the condition of anonymity that merging the village under one local body was one of the major assurances in every election. “In 2021, the DMK put up posters assuring the same would happen after coming to power in the state. But nothing happened in the last five years. The same situation will reflect in the coming election,” he said.