THOOTHUKUDI: If Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to scout for a model village to showcase his Swachh Bharat mission in Tamil Nadu, he need not look beyond Zamin Devarkulam.
It does not need Modi’s Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (adoption by an MP for development) as it already is a model village. It has CCTV cameras, public announcement system, water supply through mobile phones, clean surroundings and other top-notch facilities. Not too long ago, the village was notorious for criminal activities. All that changed within three years, thanks largely to technological progress. About 1,550 people reside in the village in Kovilpatti taluk. The village was once infamous for ‘supplying’ gangsters to carry out political murders across the State and villagers claim that between 1980 to 1989, six people were murdered for political gains. It was also notorious for robbery and dacoity, though now the scenario has changed.
Zamin Devarkulam has seven CCTV cameras, equipped with infrared sensors which can record accurately even in the dark, installed at various spots. The monitoring screen is in the panchayat office. Video grabs up to 45 days can be stored in the CCTV memory and are later transferred to a storage device. The cameras have significantly reduced crime, claims panchayat president Kamala.
As recognition of the facilities available in the village in Kuruvikulam panchayat, film directors have come forward to shoot movies there, with two — Sankarapandi Vagaira and Yogiyan Varan Somba Thooki Ulla Vai — being canned presently. The second movie is based entirely on the village and is a special feature.