TIRUPPUR: A 22-year-old pregnant woman from Kurumalai fell ill and had to be carried in a cloth cradle for about 5.5 km through the rocky hill path to the foothills of Thirumoorthy Hills and then to Udumalaipet GH.
Stating that such incidents were regular in the area, residents of the tribal village appealed to officials to expedite the construction of a mud road from the foothills to the town announced in 2023.
The work is delayed as the forest department claims the town panchayat has not applied for permission to build the road and the former says they are not allowed to use machinery to break the rocks to lay the road.
More than 15 tribal villages, including Kurumalai, Kuzhipatti, and Mavadappu, in the Udumalaipet forest range, are included in the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) in the district. Around 101 families live in Kurumalai village. To reach the village, one has to walk for about 5.5 km on a hill path from the foothills of Thirumurthy Hill.
The villagers staged several protests seeking a road and submitted petitions to officials. In 2023, the government ordered the construction of a mud road from the foothills of Thirumurthy Hills to Kurumalai for `44 lakh. But this road is not complete yet.
G Selvan, state deputy secretary of Tamil Nadu Tribal People’s Association, said, “The woman was two months pregnant. Doctors had to perform an abortion on Thursday after her condition deteriorated. We don’t know why this happened. This might have not happened if there was a road.”
Further, he said, “The work of constructing a mud road to Kurumalai is not even 50 %complete. The road needs to be built quickly. This will reduce the difficulties faced by hill villagers.”
Officials of Dhali Town Panchayat, who are carrying out the road work, said, “The construction of mud road started six months ago. A single-way path is being constructed. But is progressing slowly due to the forest department’s ban on using machinery in the RF area. There are large rocks on the way to build the path. They have to be removed by workers. We have requested the forest department to allow the use of machinery. If they allow the use of machinery, we will complete the work in three weeks.”
“The road is being constructed following a resolution passed by the district committee led by the district collector with provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006,” the officials added.
A senior official of the forest department for ATR said, “Wildlife clearance from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has not yet been obtained for that project. The user agency didn’t apply on the Parivesh portal for wildlife clearance. We want to help them. But they are required to make at least one application. After getting an application, we can proceed.”