Residents of Vilankombai tribal settlement in Erode district seek road connectivity
The Hindu
MP Subbarayan visits tribal settlement in STR to solve issue of vehicle movement blocked by water in four streams. Residents seek motorable road of 4 km on alternative route. 32 & 18 students unable to reach schools due to rains. Block Development Office to measure pathway & prepare proposal for road. No trees need to be cut, bridges not viable due to cost. Road of 4 km viable to solve long-pending issue.
As water in four streams in the locality frequently affects the movement of vehicles from the Vilankombai tribal settlement inside the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), Tiruppur MP K. Subbarayan said a road of 4 km on an alternative route, would solve the issue permanently.
The hamlet, with 45 tribal families, is located in the Kongarpalayam Panchayat in T.N. Palayam block and can be reached via a 7 km forest road and then crossing the four streams that enter the Gunderipallam reservoir. During the rains, water flow in the streams prevents the movement of vehicles and the pickup van that transports students to schools in Vinoba Nagar (7 km away) and Kongarpalayam (10 km away) cannot be operated. Due to recent rains, the vehicle could not be operated and 32 students of Vilankombai and 18 students of Kembanur tribal settlement have not been able to reach their schools for over two weeks.
The area falls under the Tiruppur Lok Sabha constituency, and Mr. Subbarayan visited the hamlets recently. Residents here insisted on a motorable road, which they said, would solve their long-pending problem. People told the MP that they presently use a 4 km pathway to reach the hamlet and a road can be laid on it.
After discussions, the MP asked the Block Development Office at T.N. Palayam to measure the pathway and prepare a proposal for a road. He told officials that if land required for the road was less than one hectare of forest land, it could be obtained for developmental projects with permission from the District Forest Officer. Hence, he asked officials to measure the land as no trees need to be cut for the proposed road.
“Construction of four bridges across the streams is not viable as a huge cost is involved. But a road of 4 km is viable,” he added.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, rejected a plea by former special Director General of Police (DGP) Rajesh Das to restore the electricity service connection to a bungalow in Thaiyur near Kelambakkam in Chengalpattu district, and to restrain Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) officials from disturbing the power supply in future.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, permitted Anna University to deposit, in three monthly instalments, an amount of ₹73.23 lakh before the Central Government Industrial Tribunal (CGIT) as a condition to hear a statutory appeal preferred by the varsity against the Coimbatore Regional Provident Fund (RPF) Commissioner’s order to pay dues to the tune of ₹2.44 crore to contract employees.