Sowlur residents in Dharmapuri demand road to access new bus stand
DHARMAPURI: Residents of Sowlur have raised concerns about the inaccesibility to the new bus stand and urged the Dharmapuri administration to construct a service road to improve road connectivity to the NH 44.
Sowlur is one of the key junctions along the Dharmapuri-Krishnagiri national highway (NH 44), connecting Palacode, Papparpatti town panchayat, and dozens of rural villages in the area. For the better part of the last decade, the Sowlur residents have been urging the NHAI to construct a service road on either side of the road to improve connectivity to the Dharmapuri municipality. However, so far, no action has been taken.
Speaking to TNIE, B Rajeshkumar, a resident, said, "With the inauguration of the new bus stand, most buses take the NH 844 road and reach the new bus stand. This has left our area with fewer buses. A service road would give us direct access to NH 44 and the new bus stand, solving our problem. At present, we have paved a service road by piling mud ourselves, but it is unsafe. During rains, the mud is washed away, and it gets slippery with only two-wheelers having access to these roads."
Another resident, S Jayakumar, said, "Unlike other areas, there is no need for land acquisition or other procedures. The NHAI only needs to pave a road here, on either side of the Sowlur bridge. This would connect our area with the new bus stand, which is only about 4 km away. This would greatly improve the development of the rural areas here and improve access to the market. Further to labourers, this connectivity would improve their livelihood."
When TNIE reached out to officials in the Dharmapuri collectorate, they said, "The NHAI is currently undertaking development works in the Gundalpatti-Karimangalam area. We will represent the issue with them and see if there are possibilities."