State mulling special panel to study road feasibility in forest areas
Tirupattur Collector D Baskara Pandian undertook a 5-km trek to the village to learn first-hand the problems of hill residents recently.
VELLORE: The state government is planning to convene a special committee to identify specific areas where roads need to be laid in forest regions in different districts.
Sources said that a decision to this effect was taken by Chief Minister MK Stalin, at the recent meeting of district collectors and SPs.
It may be recalled that Forest Department officials were pulled up by Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan in the meeting for sticking to rules as lack of motorable roads resulted in the death of two persons – including a pregnant woman, who had to be carried by a ‘dholi’ for five km to a PHC at the foothills of Neknamalai in Tirupattur district recently.
Meanwhile, Tirupattur Collector D Baskara Pandian undertook a 5-km trek to the village to learn first-hand the problems of hill residents recently. Happy that a district head was walking to their village, residents welcomed him with traditional arathi.
After inspected various works, the Collector during an interaction assured the villagers that the road would be laid at the earliest. Conveying this to DT Next, he said, “all efforts are on to obtain a NOC (no objection certificate) from the forest department at the earliest. We expect things to move now as the CM has personally given instructions in this matter.”
Explaining the proposed road, he said, “Neknamalai is 5 km from the foothills with about 2.8 km coming under the forest department control.
Though there is a mud road, it gets washed away during rains, which is when residents are affected when they want to reach the plains. As some sections are steep, we plan to circumvent this by opting for the creation of hair pin bends to ensure easy ascent.”
An additional benefit of the Collector’s visit was the discovery of a dilapidated Jain cave at Malayambattu. “We plan to write to the state archaeological department to take over its upkeep as many sculptures are broken and paintings in the 8th century facility have been eroded. Once this condition is remedied it can become a tourist attraction.”
