The hill areas of Talavadi, Hasanur and Kadambur, which house the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Bannari Amman Temple and Dhimbam Ghat Road, occupy two-thirds of the Bhavanisagar Assembly constituency.
The constituency comes under the Nilgiris Parliamentary constituency, in which the Bhavanisagar Dam that feeds the Lower Bhavani Project canal, Kalingarayan Canal, Thadapalli and Arakankottai Canals is located.
The constituencies of Sathyamangalam and Bhavanisagar were merged to form Bhavanisagar constituency during the delimitation exercise.
Though Talavadi Taluk was formed in 2016, it badly needs basic amenities, better price for farm produce, ST certificate for Tribal people, improved facilities at the upgraded Government primary health centre, job opportunities and road connectivity to tribal hamlets. The taluk with over 50 hamlets has a population of over 76,000, with many hamlets located inside the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve.
The residents are still dependent on hospitals in Sathyamangalam or at Chamrajanagar in Karnataka, located about 60 km and 22 km respectively, for medical emergencies.
Frequent accidents on Dhimbam Ghat Road interrupt movement of vehicles between the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and also affects the transport of farm produce from Talavadi to the plains.
The demand for restricting movement of heavy vehicles on the ghat road is yet to be fulfilled.
The demand for laying railway track between Sathyamangalam and Mettupalayam has been strongly opposed by environmentalists.
In the absence of road connectivity to many hamlets in Kadambur, people migrate to other places in search of livelihood. Students depend on private vehicles to commute to schools.
Effluents from the paper processing industries in Sathyamangalam continue to pollute River Bhavani and ground water in over 20 villages. Jasmine is vastly cultivated in the region and farmers have been demanding a cooperative perfume manufacturing unit for many years now.
To mitigate the acute water shortage in Punjai Puliyampatti, people have been seeking diversion of surplus water from Bhavanisagar Dam to refill water bodies in their area.
While P.L. Sundaram of Communist Party of India won in 2011, S. Eswaran of AIADMK bagged the seat in 2016.
Contestants in the fray are: A. Bannari of AIADMK, Sundaram of CPI, K. Karthik Kumar of MNM, G. Ramesh of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, and V. Sangeetha of Naam Tamilar Katchi .
While Mr. Bannari banks on AIADMK’s welfare measures, Mr. Sundaram has promised to improve amenities in the hill areas and the plains.
