Vellore Collector treks Alleri Hills to check on welfare of tribal residents

VELLORE: What was supposed to be an inspection by Collector P Kumaravel Pandian turned out to be a reconnaissance trip to help tribal residents of the Alleri Hills in Anaicut panchayat union, on Thursday.

While the snake-bite deaths of a baby on May 27 and an adult two days later resulted in the district administration planning a road to ensure easy access to medical facilities, Thursday saw Kumavel Pandian trekking to see the condition of the mud road laid under the 100-day scheme after the recent rain.

Pandian reached Varadalampattu from Anaicut by road and from there started checking the 5.10 km mud road.

He asked officials to check locations of water erosion and construct culverts if necessary.

It may be recalled that the administration started work using DGPS to identify 6 Ha of land in Vellore to be handed over to the forest department in lieu of the 3 Ha which was needed inside the reserve forest.

Using all modes of transport, including walking, he reached Maduravallidmedu and from there a hamlet where he interacted with people living there.

He also asked officials to check if the tribals were eligible for the ‘housing for all’ scheme and if any were left out, the Adi Dravidar welfare department would provide housing under their schemes.

He also said that an ambulance modified to travel the hills would be located at Alleri while housing for a doctor, nurse, VAO, and forest official at the spot would be built for which land was to be identified shortly.

At Allerei he met the next of kin of the snake bite victim and handed over a cheque for Rs 50,000 from the Collector’s discretionary fund. He also ordered that bushes bordering the house be removed to prevent a repeat of the incident.