DHARMAPURI: Residents of tribal hamlets near the district urged the district administration to take steps to construct a 1.5 km road connecting Mittakomberi and Kalikarambu village which would give them access to healthcare and education besides improve livelihood opportunities.
Kaalikarambu panchayat in Dharmapuri union comprises three villages Kondakarahalli. V Muthampatti, Thippireddihalli. These are isolated hamlets and the only connectivity option is a foot path leading out of the three villages near Mittakomberi.
From there, they travel to other areas for basic needs like education, healthcare and public transportation. Hence residents are urging the administration to construct a 1.5 km road in the forest area to provide direct access to Dharmapuri taluk.
Speaking to TNIE, K Sureshkumar a resident said, “A significant challenge faced by residents of Kalikarambu is the distance to the district collectorate. For the most basic needs like Aadhaar application or other revenue related problems, we have to travel to Bommidi then Kadathur and from there reach Dharmapuri where our taluk office is. The trip is over 100 km.”
He added that several students from the villages are studying in colleges at Dharmapuri and they suffer most. “Right now they are extremely distressed by the long journey daily. For maternity and other services, the Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital provides the best care but because of the distance we cannot access them,” he said.
R Kaliappan from Kondakarahalli said, “We have a road between Kondakarahalli and Kalikarambu. On the other side there is a road between Mittareddihalli and Komberi. In between these roads there is forest area for about 1.5 km.
Connecting these two roads will not only benefit our villages but also the entire district. Further this will create bus routes and our villages would gain easy access to Dharmapuri.”
Revenue officials were not available for comments.