ARIYALUR: Residents of Periyakurichi panchayat in the district are an aggrieved lot as like the peace talks that were called for with them on Thursday and later put off, their demands for proper basic facilities in their villages for the past five years continue to allegedly go unheeded.
While over a thousand families reside in the villages of Periyakurichi, Elaikadambur and Nallan Colony in the panchayat, the residents point to the lack of proper facilities like roads and drainage canals. The road network which was last laid about five years ago is ridden with potholes and the improper construction of sewage canals in Periyakurichi and Nallan Colony is leading to discharge onto the streets, they complained.
They also complained about the fair price shop in Periyakurichi functioning out of the village library, and the panchayat office remaining locked for years and the panchayat secretary's residence instead serving as one, among others. While the issues were brought to the notice of the Sendurai union office, under which the panchayat falls, no action has been taken so far, the residents said. Irked, they announced of a protest on Thursday but were called for peace talks at the tahsildar’s office the same day.
The peace talks, however, didn’t take place. D Mathiyazhagan of Periyakurichi said, "The roads in the villages are damaged and dangerous potholes have appeared, making it difficult for us to commute. We expected new roads but the officials don’t care.” “Eight months ago sewage canals were constructed but were not closed properly in front of people's houses.
Due to this many, including children and elderly people, slip and fall into it. Due to stagnant sewage in the streets, mosquito breeding is high," he added. He also complained of corruption by the panchayat president in implementation of the state government’s solar-powered greenhouse scheme. "The government provides Rs 50,000 towards renovation of greenhouses. People renovated their house bearing the expenses and claimed reimbursement from the panchayat.
To release the funds, the panchayat president demanded a bribe of Rs 5,000 each from the owners of 32 such houses. However, the money that they can rightfully claim was not released," he added. Pointing to a railway subway is in the panchayat, K Ilayaraja of Nallan Colony said, “During the rainy season, many, especially school students, suffer from waterlogging there.” He also complained of the road leading to the graveyard at Elaikadambur as being in need of maintenance and demanded steps to rid the village of encroachments. When contacted, Sendurai Block Development Officer A Prabhakaran told TNIE, "We are going to take action for all the basic facilities that people are asking for."