DHARMAPURI: Tribal residents of Sitling panchayat were delighted by the announcement of a new road from Kottapatti to Sitling, which would be made within the forest area at Rs 5.80 crores.
For 10 years, residents of Sitling have been urging the Dharmapuri administration and the forest department to pave a road between Kottapatti and Sitling. However, as a 8.5 km stretch of the road was falling under the Kottapatti reserve forest area, the project required forest clearance.
Earlier this year, the forest department issued a tender to lay the road and have now announced that work would begin soon.
Speaking on the need for the project, R Maheswaran, a resident of Sitling, said, "Silting is an isolated tribal hamlet with over 30 villages on top of hills. In 2016, the Dharmapuri administration had constructed a road between Sitling and Jottapatty, but the quality of the roads was so poor that a single rain spell washed away the road and in justr a few months it became a muddy road. This had hindered access to ambulances, and we had to carry our sick to Kottapatti and board ambulances."
Another resident, B Murali from the AK Dhanda said, " There is a distance over over 9 km between Sitling and Kottapatti, the forest department would construct a 8.5 km stretch of road between the two villages. The rest of the area belongs to two panchayats, and the Block Development Office has also assured us of roads."
Forest staff who commented on the road works said, "The tender has been issued by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, and the proceedings have concluded. We expect the work to begin by December. We would be monitoring the construction process and taking steps to complete the works as soon as possible."