Struggle for a motorable road to Sundapur village continues in Bargur Hills in Erode

Over 150 families of Sundapur village in Bargur Hills have been waging a battle to get a motorable road to their village that remains a distant dream so far.

Located 6 km from the Thamaraikarai – Bargur Road, the village has 10 tribal families and 150-odd families belonging to the Lingayat community who have been residing for many generations. The village can be reached by traversing 3 km forest road and 3 km road that comes under the Bargur panchayat in Anthiyur Union.

“Gravel protrude on the mud road as even 108 ambulances could not reach the village during emergencies,” said a resident P. Bomman. He said pregnant women and patients are carried in cloth cradles to the main road after which they are transported to the hospitals. “Our only demand is for a motorable road to the village,” he said and pointed out that their protests and petitions to officials and elected representatives failed to yield any result.

Residents said the condition of the road turned from bad to worse during the rainy season as they could not even walk on the slippery stretch. “Life is very difficult without a proper road,” said a resident who wanted the mud road to be converted to a tar-topped road.

They claimed that many students discontinued their studies as they could not reach school that is 10 to 12 km away. Residents said LPG cylinders, essential commodities and other items are carried as headload and their plight continues for many generations.

V.P. Gunasekaran, State committee member of Tamil Nadu Tribal People Association said, “the voice of the underprivileged is yet to materialise and they continue to suffer.” Recently, a protest was also organised by the residents at Thamaraikarai demanding road facility, he added. Residents said if their demand is not met, they would stage an indefinite hunger fast at Thamaraikarai in the first week of November.

Earlier, a tar-topped road was sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) III 2020-21 Batch I, at a cost of ₹2.82 crore. After a contractor was given the work order, the project ran into rough weather due to various reasons and the project was dropped.

Anthiyur MLA A.G. Venkatachalam told The Hindu that the required land for laying the road has been sought from the Forest Department for which compensatory land has been identified in the hill area. He said the process would be expedited to ensure the road is laid at the earliest.

Published - October 21, 2024 06:44 pm IST