NILGIRIS: Heeding to the long-pending demand of residents for a tar road connecting Bospara and Chembakolli tribal settlement near Gudalur, the Devarsholai Town Panchayat officials have sent a proposal to the state government seeking funds for laying a 3.29 km road.
Sources in the revenue department said they have prepared a proposal at an estimated project cost of Rs 2.96 crore and are awaiting a G.O. to lay the road under the Tamil Nadu Rural Roads Improvement Scheme. On Wednesday, District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneru inspected the site and walked for 1 km to examine the area’s conditions, as requested by the tribal residents. M Suresh from the settlement told TNIE that they had been asking the authorities to lay a road to Chembakolli to ensure hassle-free travel for over 120 families, since 2007.
“Students have to walk in the slush for a long distance. Even an ambulance once got stuck in the slush. The situation gets worse during monsoon. After our settlement receives a tar road facility, we will urge the TNSTC to operate buses to our area,” said Suresh.
They have also requested the authorities to construct a public toilet and establish streetlights on the new road. “Proper lighting is essential for us as wild animals frequent our region due to the proximity to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR). We have also asked the collector to take steps to allot more funds to resume construction of houses under the Housing for All scheme,” he added.
Sources said as many as 67 house owners await government funds to complete construction of their houses. Work on around 47 houses have been completed in the settlement. Furthermore, the residents alleged that officials from the Gudalur forest range and MTR had failed to carry out maintenance in the Elephant Proof Trench along the MTR border to prevent elephant intrusion.
When contacted, the Executive Officer of Devarsholai Town Panchayat Pradeep Kumar said the delay in sending a proposal for the tar road was due to the hold-up in receiving permission from the forest department, which was necessary since the settlement is located inside the forest and adjacent to the tiger reserve.