Residents, farmers, traders and students of Government Primary School in Erukkampattu village, around 10 km from Pernambut town in Vellore, blocked the TKVK- Kadapanatham Road on Wednesday, demanding re-laying of the stretch.
The residents said that the stretch had not been re-laid for years. It is a lifeline for at least five remote villages along the Reserve Forest. These villages, which are located on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border, have around 1,800 families comprising farmers and wage labourers. These villages have a few bus services that are operated by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation.
The village has government schools only up to Class V. For higher classes, the students have to go to Pernambut town. Likewise, the Primary Healthcare Centre in Pernambut is the nearest government health centre for them. Many times, the bus services get affected due to bad roads. “The stretch is a key link for us to reach Pernambut for day-to-day activities. During emergencies, ambulances do not come to our villages due to the poor condition of the stretch,” said K. Damu, a resident.
On Wednesday, around 8 a.m, when the regular TNSTC bus (Pernambut - Kottaiyur village) reached Erukkampattu village, residents blocked the TKVK - Kadapanatham Road. A team of revenue officials and Inspector K. Muthukumar reached the spot and pacified them.
After more than an hour of talks, residents dispersed with assurance from the authorities that steps would be taken to re-lay the road. “Finalisation of the tender date to commence the road work is being processed at the Collectorate (Vellore). Once the tender process is done, the work will be started immediately,” K. Premalatha, Block Development Officer, Pernambut, told The Hindu.
ABDO officials said that TKVK - Kadapanatham Road, which is 7.75 km-long, would be re-laid under the Centrally sponsored Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana 2023 at a cost of ₹5.41 crore by the Panchayat Union. The work also got the administrative and estimated sanctions from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, which authorised works under the scheme.
As part of the work, the carriageway of the stretch ( 3.75 metres wide) will be laid. Shoulders along the stretch will also be strengthened. Four new culverts between 1.5 metres to 3 metres wide will be built to discharge excess rainwater into Palar river. New LED street lights will be installed by respective local bodies. The entire work, which will be monitored by R. Parimala, Assistant Engineer (A.E), BDO (Pernambut), will be completed in six months.
