DHARMAPURI: Tribal residents of Vathalmalai have urged the Dharmapuri administration to construct more retaining walls along the hill road leading to their hamlet.
The hilly road to Vathalamai is a 19 km stretch of road from the base of the hamlet. This road has a total of 26 hairpin bends. These bends often face severe soil erosion, causing regular traffic disruptions. Last year, this road experienced multiple instances of soil erosion, resulting in the hamlet's road being disconnected for over three days. So people had requested the administration to set up retaining walls to curb soil erosion and landslides. Recently, the Dharmapuri Block Development Office had also constructed a retaining wall in one area. But residents have flagged that several other areas have a high risk of soil erosion and need retaining walls.
P Selvam from Ondriangadu told TNIE, "We have one road in and out of the hamlet and thus we are extremely protective of it. We had lived here for decades without roads and want a safe road. Landslides and soil erosion are common here, and every rainy season, we pray that the rocks do not roll over. If it does, our hamlet gets completely disconnected, labourers lose work, and students cannot reach colleges. Further, farmers will also be affected. So everyone is affected by the landslide."
Another farmer, S Kaaliappan from Palsilambu, said, "We had requested retaining walls in several of the bends where there is a high risk of landslides. Two months ago, we got a retaining wall, but no further works were undertaken in other areas. While we thank the administration for the initiative, we need more of these walls to keep our road clear. We need the administration to assess the areas where soil erosion is common and construct retaining walls there also."
When TNIE spoke to officials in the Block Development office in Dharmapuri, they said, " We had constructed a retaining wall at the 8th hairpin bend at Rs 9.28 lakhs. We have also identified other areas and sent a proposal for the construction of additional retaining walls. Because of the rainy season, it is not safe to undertake the works. In the upcoming months, additional works may be undertaken."
