DHARMAPURI: Residents of Sitheri, a tribal hamlet, urged the district administration to set up cellphone towers in their area stating that the lack of connectivity is impacting their routine. They said the situation is extremely dire when it comes to emergencies, leading to delay in treatment or even death.
Residents have planned to boycott the local body elections scheduled on October 9 if the administration does not take steps to set up mobile towers, said sources. Sitheri panchayat is a part of the Pappireddipatti block and has over 60 hamlets. The panchayat has a total population of over 9,000 people with most of them engaged in agricultural activities.
Speaking to TNIE, Srikanth, a farmer said, “As many as 22 villages have no landline connection. While many own mobile phones, they do not have any reception because of the lack of cellphone towers. In the recent past, children have not received any education since classes were online. If another lockdown is called, the dropouts in our village will only increase.”
Venkateshan, a labourer, said even to call for ambulances during emergencies they have to travel over 5 km to get signals. “While we do have a PHC in Sitheri, it would take us hours to traverse the hilly terrain for first aid,” he worried. He added that if the problem is unresolved, it could potentially lead to loss of lives since the nearest GH is 30 km away. “We have also hoisted black flags in our homes in protest.”
When TNIE spoke to college graduates from three villages they said, “Last year when we had to write and submit our semester exam papers. We had to take a bus to Harur and sit at the bus stand to write the exams.” They added that while 22 villages have zero connection, other areas also have poor connectivity.
Harur revenue officials said they would request BSNL or service providers to set up a tower. “There used to be a connection, but because of poor patronage, the private telecommunication company took the tower down. We will take necessary steps,” said officials.