The long-felt demand for formation of a new district with Pollachi as headquarters is being articulated with vigour, of late, by sections of the public in that region.
The demand is more pronounced among residents of Valparai and other habitations of the Anamalai hills.
The promise for upgrade of Pollachi as district headquarters with a cluster of contiguous taluks in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts was one of the main election promises of both the DMK and the AIADMK, according to representatives of trade organisations in Udumalpet and Pollachi.
It was during the DMK regime in 2008 that Tiruppur district was formed with a cluster of taluks in Coimbatore and Erode districts: Tiruppur, Udumalpet, Palladam and parts of Avinashi taluks in Coimbatore district, and Dharapuram, Kangeyam and parts of Perundurai in Erode district. Madathukulam was made a taluk headquarters and annexed to Tiruppur district.
There is a more pressing case for conversion of Pollachi into a district headquarters for residents of Anamalai and Valparai taluks. For instance, the distance from Sheikalmudi, the farthest end of Valparai that borders Kerala to Coimbatore, is over 150 km and the residents most of whom belong to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities find themselves compelled to spend close to seven hours to reach Coimbatore, N. Shaw Nawaz Khan, president, Valparai Bar Association, pointed out, making a case for formation of a new district with Pollachi as headquarters.
Citing the instance of Tiruppur district, which was once a sub-taluk of Palladam, AIADMK MLA of Pollachi V. Jayaraman said there was no reason why Pollachi, which has been a revenue division since the British era, should not be made a district headquarters with the taluks of Pollachi, Udumalpet, Madathukulam, Kinathukadavu, Valparai and Anamalai.
The feasibility for formation of Pollachi district remains to be seen, Pollachi MP of ruling DMK K. Shanmuga Sundaram, said.
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