Tribal hamlets in Tirupattur to boycott LS polls, citing lack of basic amenities

MADURAI: People residing in tribal hamlets of Pungampattu and Nellivasal Nadu of Tirupattur district have decided to boycott the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Maniyaappan, a villager of Pungampattu, while speaking to IANS, said: We don’t have proper roads, school is 12 km away from our hamlet and our children have to walk through dense forests to reach the school.”

“This time, we decided to boycott elections,” he added, citing that “hollow promises” are made every election and nothing changes.

Residents of remote tribal hamlets constituting these villages and atop Jawadhu Hills near Tirupathur town, have erected banners in their villages, asking political parties not to visit them to canvas for votes for the Lok Sabha election.

Karuppammal, a resident of Pungampattu Nadu village while speaking to IANS said: “Political parties should not visit our village and we have asked them not to come.”

She said that children from these hamlets have to go to government schools in Pudur Nadu or Nellivasal Nadu, around 12 km away. Moreover, she explained that only muddy pathways are available for residents to reach these villages for their day-to-day work.

Karuppammal added: "Many men from the areas left their families behind and migrated to work as labourers in big towns and cities like Bengaluru, Salem and Chennai. These hamlets have 40-45 families, with mostly women leading them."

The villagers told IANS that sick persons, including pregnant women, had died on the way to the hospital over the years as people could not shift them to Jolarpet or Tirupathur town at the foothills of Jawadhu hills.

Veeramani, a resident of Pudur Nadu, while speaking to IANS said: “As there are no roads, bus services and ambulances, we have to carry ailing persons and pregnant women to health centres down the hill.”

The tribals also added that over the years, many sick people, including pregnant women, died on the way to the hospital due to this.

Residents, comprising 32 tribal hamlets with around 17,000 voters, have put up signs asking political parties not to canvass for votes in their areas. Manisamy, another resident of Nellivasal Nadu, said that the decision to boycott elections was taken jointly in village tribal meetings and that they won't change the decision.

Talking about rationing as a serious issue in these remote areas, Veeramani said: “We cultivate mostly millets, vegetables and green chilli. Honey collection is also a major occupation. Farm produce is carried on foot to local markets in Jolarpet and Thirupathur towns.“

He said that while ration shops are in their village during monsoon, rations cannot be transported owing to the steep and slushy terrain and cardholders will have to walk down the hills to Pudur village to buy the rations.

Keeping all these problems caused by a lack of basic amenities, the villagers are set to boycott the forthcoming elections.