NAMAKKAL: Collector S Madhumathy recently braved an eight-km trek by foot to reach Bodhamalai to inspect the polling centres, being set up in remote hill hamlets.
Bodhamalai, an offshoot of Kolli Hills, is a separate block running 12 km in the East-West direction between Jarugu and Kolli Hills. Ranging from 800 meters to 1200 meters in height, Bodhamalai was neglected for long. Tribals live in Kizhur, Mellur and Kedamalai hamlets rearing livestock and practising agriculture. Administratively, the area falls under the Rasipuram taluk and in the Rasipuram Assembly constituency in Namakkal district.
Ration items are taken by donkeys twice a month to these hill hamlets. Streetlights and roads are missing. Only solace is that there are a few solar lamps to make the remote areas bright in the night.
In 2003, then Namakkal Collector D Raajendiran initiated a scheme for the tribals. Houses were constructed on the foot of the hills and allocated to them.
However, the scheme was not fully successful and the tribals still live as primitives. Some NGOs are helping them overcome their limitation. Their children are studying under private sponsorships.
The Collector, Rasipuram Returning Officer Swaminathan and District PRO T S Subramani reviewed facilities in all the three polling centres. At Kedamalai, where the centre has been established in the government boarding and lodging school for tribal children, the Collector told officials to provide water, ramp and adequate facilities for voters. People have to trek up to three km to reach polling booths. Madhumathy also checked if people found on the voter list had identity cards.