DHARMAPURI: Residents in and around Maliyur village near Papparapatti are facing hardship due to the lack of bus service and they urged the Dharmapuri administration and TNSTC to allocate bus routes to the hamlet.
The village, situated atop a 1,500-meter hill, is surrounded by a forest and most of the residents are daily wage labourers. Though district administration constructed roads to the village a decade ago, due to the hilly terrain, no public transportation is available in the area.
Speaking to TNIE, V Suresh Kumar, a resident said, “Malaiyur villages has over 200 families. As a result of over two decades of petitioning, the administration allocated road facilities in the area nearly10 years ago. However, no efforts have been taken to provide buses. The children in our village have to avail private transport or walk around 15 km to school, leading many to drop out.”
Another resident, R Muniraj said, “We have private transport from the village to Papparapatti or other areas and are charged over `150 per trip. This price would increase further in the evenings. Most of the villages have livestock and if they are sick or injured, we spend even more on transportation.”
M Selvi, another resident said, “We just need two buses-- one in the morning and another one in the evening. This will at least ensure that students can reach school and return safely.” Revenue officials said that the roads to the village are not suitable for bus transportation. “A major renovation must be undertaken in the area,” they said.