KANNIYAKUMARI: The heavily damaged seven-kilometre stretch of a state highway from Keeriparai to Maramalai hills, which has not even been re-laid once in the last two decades, has turned out to be an immense hassle for nearly 200 estate workers and a few government staff working at a panchayat office and a post office in Maramalai hills. As government bus service to the area has not been operational for nearly 20 years, the people travelling to Maramalai hills solely rely on private transport, which sets them back by Rs 1,500 per trip.
A major portion of the four-kilometre stretch, which connects the state highway with the panchayat office, is a panchayat union road, and has been re-laid, said R Lilly Bai Santhappan, former panchayat president of Balamore. However, no road resurfacing work was carried out on the state highway over the last two decades, she said. The government staff has no other choice besides opting for private transport to reach the panchayat office and the post office, she said, accusing authorities concerned of not taking action on their repeated, long-pending demand.
A vehicle driver said it takes nearly an hour to travel through the damaged stretch, causing serious troubles while transporting patients to hospitals in case of emergencies. “We need to travel 20 kilometres to reach the nearby hospital in Thadikarankonam; for specialty treatment, we need to go to the hospitals in Nagercoil, located 40 kilometres from Maramalai hills,” he said, adding that they charge between Rs 800 and Rs 2,000 per trip, based on the distance, from Keeriparai to the hills.
Urging the authorities to re-lay the road and operate mini bus services, CITU district estate worker union general secretary M Valsakumar said the estate workers depend on private vehicles to travel to Keeriparai, Thadikarankonam and Nagercoil to even purchase commodities. He also suggested that the state government could promote tourism, likening
the Maramalai hills to Kodaikanal.
T Ayyappan, a retired BSNL staff, said the road was completely not navigable on a two-wheeler, and rains worsen the travel, recollecting his latest journey to the hills a few months ago.
Officials from the state highways department officials said the cost to re-lay the road would be very high, as it has not been repaired for the last two decades. Thus, we have been considering pothole repair and patching the road, they added. A senior TNSTC official said an inspection on the condition of the road would be conducted soon.