More than 60 Adivasi families in Chinnala Kombai near Pilloor Mattam in Coonoor have threatened to boycott the upcoming general elections unless their hamlet gets road connectivity and other basic facilities.
The families, belonging to the Irula community, have to walk 2 km to the nearest motorable road which connects Pilloor Mattam with Anaipallam. “Every day, people make a round trip of 4 km, walking through thick forests populated by elephants, leopards and tigers,” said S. Chandran, a resident of the village.
A few years ago, it took an ambulance 17 hours to reach the village of nearby Anaipallam when nine people from the village were struck by lightning during a spell of heavy rains. Following the incident, then Collector, J. Innocent Divya sanctioned the construction of a road to Anaipallam. However, the residents of Chinnala Kombai, who live nearby, still do not have road access to their village. “Though the walk to the nearest motorable road is shorter, it is very difficult for us still to reach Pilloor Mattam as we have to rely on private vehicles to get us there, if we can afford one,” said another resident from the village.
“We have to walk to the road connecting Anaipallam and Pilloor Mattam, from where we have to wait for private vehicles to give us a lift to Pilloor Mattam,” said Mr. Chandran.
Another resident, Kamalam, said that getting access to healthcare and to education was still a challenge for local residents, especially for women and young girls. “If a sick or injured person is unable to walk, they have to be carried on stretchers fashioned from bits of cloth and sticks,” said Ms. Kamalam.
Residents say that in order for the government to take their demands seriously, they were not vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and were also considering returning government-provided documents such as ration and Aadhar cards.
