Kadambathur wants causeway across Cooum to village

TIRUVALLUR: Several people from Thandalam village staged sat on a hunger strike Friday demanding the state government to build a causeway across the Cooum River connecting to Kadambathur village.

The protestors said that despite several requests regarding the same, no action has been initiated regarding their demands for the past few years. They said that every time the village and its surrounding areas get pounded by rain, the causeway connecting either side of the Cooum river gets submerged, forcing people living in and around the area to travel over ten kilometres using alternate routes to reach the other side.

Several people including school students, pregnant women and mainly farmers who buy fertilizers, seeds etc and people who are eligible for the greenhouse scheme rely largely on the causeway to reach Kadambathur. The incessant rains over the past few months have damaged a portion of the causeway connecting Cooum thereby putting the residents of the area into a lot of hardship.

While a large portion of the causeway gets submerged under water during every rainy season, over 2000 residents who live in Thandalam village have placed repeated requests with their village administration to build a new causeway.

Despite every grama sabha meeting giving a nod for the project every year since 2014, the villagers are yet to get their causeway.The protest in front of the Thandalam Panchayat Council office was under the leadership of Vikramadithyan, the state president of All India Handiwork Embroidery Laborers Association. Kadambathur District Development Officer Latha, Tiruvallur Taluk Inspector Kamala Haasan and Thandalam Panchayat Council President Mani held talks with the protestors and promised action within a month.