DHARMAPURI: Residents of Jothihalli village near Marandahalli have approached the Dharmapuri district collector seeking a railway underpass linking their village. In a bid to convey the seriousness of the problems faced by them they threatened not to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
“Our village was left without roads after the construction of the railway line connecting Salem and Bengaluru nearly 68 years ago. Now people here have to take a 10-kilometre detour to access healthcare or educational facilities,” said residents. The village has over 1,445 houses and a population of 6,820 people.
“Our only major demand in the past 50 years has been for a railway underpass. This has been denied to us despite multiple efforts; hence we will be boycotting the election,” they said. Speaking to TNIE, R Kaveri, a resident of the village, said, “It has been 68 years since the railway line connecting Salem and Bengaluru was constructed across our village.
During the construction they had closed off our village in such a manner that we don’t have a road link to Marandahalli and Palacode where we go for health care, education and even for needs of animal husbandry.
She blamed poor planning that landed the villagers in a predicament as the railway line came up.
“For over 50 years we have been demanding the Railways for the underpass. We have to take a detour of at least 10 km for basic needs. Children in classes 10, 11 and 12 have to walk nearly 6 km to reach their school daily,” Kaveri added.
JP Balasurya, another villager, said, “We have no access to ambulances. Usually we have to carry the unwell people across the railway tracks to avail the services. In the case of fire accidents, fire engines will not be able to reach our villages. As emergency services are at stake we have been filing repeated petitions seeking a railway underpass. Over five people have died while crossing the tracks in the past decade.”
“Because of the lack of proper road connectivity there is only one bus to our village and to board this bus we have to walk at least 2 km. We seek a railway underpass as almost all aspects of our lives are affected. Despite making requests for 50 years, no efforts have been made. We have lost faith in elections and government; hence we are boycotting the Lok Sabha election,” another resident, R Perumal, said.
When TNIE spoke to revenue officials, they said, “We will investigate the issue and send a report to the higher authorities.”