DHARMAPURI: Residents of Somanahalli and 10 surrounding villages urged the State Highways Department to reconstruct roads in their area. Residents say the road got badly damaged as heavy vehicles travelled on it for the last one year during the construction of the Adhiyamankottai -Royakottai stretch of the national highway.
Somanahalli village is one of the key locations in Palacode taluk which is connected to over dozens of villages in the area including Modhugulahalli, Muugampatti, Karagathahalli, Pannanthoppu and over six other villages. The roads from Somanahalli connect to these other villages and form a crucial road. However, over the past years scores of heavy duty vehicles used these rural roads to transport materials for the Adhiyamankottai-Royakottai NH road. This has ruined roads."
Speaking to TNIE, R Govidhasamy, a resident of Modhugulahalli said, "The constant use of rural roads to transport construction materials has caused the tar roads to break off and become mud roads. This is a key road connecting over 10 villages and without roads, it is extremely difficult for two-wheelers to use this road.The dust from the roads is also distressing."
Another resident K Perumal said, "Hundreds of people use the Somanahalli roads to reach schools, colleges and workplaces. As it was the Highway department which damaged the roads, we filed a petition with the State Highways Department. We want the roads to be constructed before monsoon, because if it rains, we would not be able to use the roads at all."
When contacted, officials in the Palacode State Highway Office said, "We will undertake necessary steps to provide roads in Somanahalli. We would need to assess the situation first which would take some time."