KRISHNAGIRI: Lack of basic amenities has forced all families, except seven, at Pullahalli, a tribal hamlet in Bettamugilalam panchayat to come down to the plains or migrate to nearby Dharmapuri district in search of better life.
The hamlet is situated atop Pullahalli hills 1,100 feet above sea level and is a reserve forest, which means no development work like laying roads is allowed. With most families having left, the village currently has a few crumbling houses and would fit the moniker ghost town. A mud patch for 6-km is what the tribals have as road to the foot hills, as no bitumen road is not allowed in reserve forest.
R Senbagam (40), a resident of the village, said " We don't have any amenities here, and many of our relatives migrated to Dharmapuri district. My son and daughter are studying near Denkanikottai and Krishnagiri. Because of the hilly terrain, power cut is common and it takes several days for it to be restored. Drinking water is also difficult because of the power cuts as water cannot be pumped to the overhead tank. A decade ago a Panchayat Union Primary School used to function here, but it was closed due to poor patronage. Now, children go to the school in Aalpatti which is two km away."
Further, she alleged that they do not get support from the government. "Officials do not visit the village to access and fulfil our needs. Politicians visit us only during elections." A Govindaraj, a class XI student at the government higher secondary school at Marandahalli, says he struggles to go to school and this forced the family to move to the town.
M Munusamy (69) said he migrated to the foothills two decades ago so that his family could have access to education and health. One of his sons has now completed PG in business administration. Asked why government did not take steps to help the tribals, former Thalli MLA Y Prakash of DMK said during his stint he asked the former District Forest Officers of Hosur Forest Division to grant permission to lay bitumen road but it was not granted.
Incumbent MLA T Ramachandran of the CPI said he had raised the issues in Assembly. "Roads in forest areas need to be cleared by forest department. I will approach the DFO again."
Denkanikottai Forest Ranger C Murugesan said they did not receive any proposal from Kelamangalam Block Development Officer. "If they get any proposal, it will be sent to DFO for persual," he added.
Former Kelamangalam Block Development Officer Tamilarasan said, " We had planned to send a proposal last month but I was transferred. I am not aware of the current status."
An official in DRDA said, " A proposal to get forest clearance has been in the works for close to a decade but it's yet to be sent and those few families have been suffering a lot."