People of Kathirimalai remote hamlet have a reason to smile as instead of traversing the rough terrain for 9 km on foot to reach the foothills, they could soon use a motorable road.
Official sources said the hamlet in Bargur Panchayat Union in Anthiyur taluk is located at an elevation of 1,200 metres inside the reserve forest of Chennampatti forest range in Erode Forest Division.
There are 80 tribal families, comprising 294 members, belonging to Solaga community living there for generations who cultivate crops for their consumption and rear livestock. The hamlet can be reached only on foot from Kathiripatti at Kolathur in Salem district. Donkeys continue to ferry poll materials during elections.Solar panels light up the households, while pregnant women and patients are still carried in cloth cradles to the hospital in Kolathur.
A motorable road was a long-pending demand of the people as they had to walk for three hours to reach Kathiripatti and proceed 13 km on the road to reach Kolathur to purchase essentials.
Collector H. Krishnanunni in September 2021 sent a team of officials from various departments to the hilltop to study the issues and implement projects for the overall development of the people. It was found that motorable roads are the priority for development and the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) was asked to submit a proposal for laying roads. Forest clearance was obtained and Mr. Krishnanunni sanctioned the road for the hamlet.
L.Madhubalan,Additional Collector (Development) /ProjectOfficer, DRDA, told The Hindu that a single layer water bound macadam (WBM) road would be laid for 8 km at a total cost of ₹147.29 lakh under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from Kathiripatti to Esalankadu in the hilltop.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin laid the foundation stone for the project through video conferencing on January 10. The work would begin after Pongal holidays and completed in six months.
