TIRUNELVELI: The Pappankulam village in Tirunelveli district is on its way to becoming a ghost town. With no road connectivity and the underpass bridge that keeps flooding, 75 per cent of the residents have already forsaken the village and the remaining are planning to do the same.
The deserted road to the village in Gangaikondan Panchayat serves no purpose as it is disconnected from the main road. While some lorries do ply on the underpass bridge, water has accumulated on the stretch. During the monsoon season, residents have to take a detour of 5-8 km around the village.
Sources said that before the construction of the underpass bridge, people used unmanned level crossing. Later a railway worker has appointed to man this crossing before the underpass bridge was constructed. "While some carry their vehicles to cross the bridge, many walk nearly 8km to reach the main road," said Dharmaraj, a resident.
However, the problem didn't end there. Velmurugan (53), who was born and raised in the village, said, "Before the bridge construction, residents faced drinking water problems. They didn't have transport facilities to go to school or reach their office. The first bus that comes after 9 am is of no help to the children or office workers. There used to be 200-odd residents, nut many families have now re-located to other places. Before the construction of the bridge, there were 80 families and now there are just 10. The remaining residents are either too old to relocate or do not have a choice. I plan to relocate in the next 10 days."
There are similar stories on the underpass bridge between Manitachi- Tirunelveli and Tirunelveli- Ambasamudram. Official sources claim that a worker has been assigned to remove the water on the bridges. However, residents claim the issue continues to plague them.