TIRUPATTUR: Kaniyamma* (28), a resident of Neknamalai hills in Alangayam block, has a one-year-old daughter after losing three pregnancies. On two occasions, relatives carried her in a doli — a cloth sling tied to a bamboo pole — along a 7-km stretch of rocky mud track to reach a hospital. Both times, she lost her baby before reaching the Vallipattu Primary Health Centre, 10 km away, or the Vaniyambadi Government Hospital, 13 km away.
“She lost the babies because there is no hospital or clinic on our hilltop, no road, and no means for us to stay downhill for the delivery,” said Kaniyamma’s mother-in-law. “For many women, the water breaks on the way to the hospital, and the village women help the mothers give birth on the mud track to the hospital.”
This is every day reality for the around 1,000 residents of Neknamalai, a settlement found in early 1900s. Nearly eight decades after Independence, the village still lacks a bituminous (BT) road, regular bus services and healthcare. Many residents have migrated in search of work. After high school, the younger generation typically leaves to work at the factories of Coimbatore or Erode. Those who remain farm hardy crops such as, foxtail millet, little millet, ragi, pearl millet and field beans, for a living. Besides, they rely on 100 days of work under VB-G RAM G for assured income.
The newly introduced facilities are too little, too late. While the mud track, overhead drinking water tank, and hilltop ration supply were all established within the last five years, they follow decades of neglect. Before the track was built, residents were forced to scale the steep terrain without basic support or proper footwear.
The lack of medical facilities has cost villagers their loved ones. Jaya* (35) recalled the deaths of two close relatives. “My 50-year-old brother died of a heart attack because he could not reach a hospital in time. My uncle died of a snakebite for the same reason." Villagers said such deaths have become so common that people have been forced to accept them as normal.
TNIE had earlier reported the death of a 70-year-old man with a recurrent urinary tract infection. Residents claim he died because he could not receive timely treatment, and the slippery mud track during monsoon made it hard for us to take him downhill. His is just one of many such incidents.
Frustrated by years of neglect, villagers boycotted the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to pressure the authorities. Officials persuaded them to vote, promising solutions, but the settlement remains in neglect. The local ambulance remained out of service due to frequent breakdowns and the difficulty of navigating the rugged terrain.
In 2020. an Amma Mini Clinic opened in the area brought great relief to the elderly. However, the then state government shut it down within a year, citing its “temporary” nature and “poor performance”. The building now stands locked and dilapidated, and villagers are left to arrange the emergency transport themselves.
Viji* (45), an ASHA worker who lives in the hills, is one of three who look after residents’ health around the clock. “A team of healthcare professionals from the Ambur Government Hospital visits the village once every 15 days to examine residents. Even so, newborns have to be taken downhill with their mothers to keep up with the immunisation schedule,” she said. “If a small room with the equipment needed to treat minor ailments is provided, it will be very helpful. Without a road, it is extremely difficult.”
For Lakshmi* (43), the introduction of ration supply to the hilltop has been significant. Previously, residents endured trips up and down the hills just for groceries until former district collector K Tharpagaraj arranged monthly deliveries. However, any shopping beyond basic rations still demands a trip downhill. "We have to depend on our husbands and sons even for basic necessities," she shared.
Neknamalai has a functioning primary school and an Anganwadi centre. The school has around 10 students and one teacher, and went 10 months without a headmaster until one was appointed recently.
“Earlier, children’s education stopped after primary school, because for middle and high school they had to either travel downhill every day or stay in hostels. Now parents are slowly understanding the importance of education and allowing their children to stay in hostels downhill,” the teacher said. Her husband drops her at the hilltop, but on rainy days she skips classes because of the risk of skidding.
A senior rural development official told TNIE that a Pre-Empowered Committee (Pre-EC) meeting on Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) proposals from Tamil Nadu was held in July 2026, covering the proposed 7-km road to Neknamalai. A Detailed Project Report (DPR) is submitted and and sanction from the Union Rural Development ministry is awaited. “Once it is approved, all the roadwork for Neknamalai will commence,” he said. District Collector Nallasivan V who inspected Neknamalai on Saturday, said that the first stage of forest clearance has been granted. The next stage, the funding split of 60:40 between the centre and the state will be taken up after review. “For now, road connectivity is our first priority. Once that is done, we will address the healthcare needs of the people on the hilltop at the earliest.”
*Names changed on request.
(with inputs from Dheepthi OJ @ Chennai)
