Their life is controlled by sunlight

Tribals of Siruvattukadu have been living without power connection for seven decades

In a different age: A tribal house in Siruvattukadu village on Pachalur hill in Dindigul district without electricity.

DINDIGUL

Darkness has been haunting more than 300 tribal families at Siruvattukadu panchayat on Pachalur hill for the past seven decades, as electricity is still a distant dream for them.

Efforts taken by local bodies and elected representatives have not changed their pathetic condition as TANGEDCO could not get clearance from Forest Department to lay underground power lines through reserve forest area.

A survey was conducted in 1996 to provide electricity to the panchayat, comprising Settukadu, Thalaikuthukadu and Puliakasam villages. Fifty eight electric posts had to be erected to draw cables from Bethelpuram to these villages. One and a half km of the total distance of four km pass through reserve forests. The project was abandoned due to the inordinate delay in getting approval for laying cable in reserve forests.

“With no power supply, we cannot use mobile phones or television sets. Our children have to complete their study before sunset,” said A. Duraisamy of Siruvattukadu.

During the Vajpayee rule at the Centre in 1996, some tribals had got solar lights. But with no money to replace the batteries and lights, they too had been languishing in darkness. Now, some non-governmental organisations had said the Narendra Modi government would provide them power under a new scheme, and the tribals had submitted applications, he added.

Several tribal villages on the hill do not have toilet facilities. However, a few government schemes such as PDS, primary education and primary health care have reached them.

The tribals said forest officials restricted movement of vehicles after 6 p.m. Even during emergencies, they had to wait in darkness for local helpers to forest officials to come and open the gates. Forest officials also did not allow the people to return to the village from Oddanchatram vegetable market after 6 p.m.

With no road connectivity, ambulance vans did not come to these villages. One pregnant woman delivered a baby under a tree on the way to hospital recently, said Malathi of Pulikuthikadu.

There is no power connection to Pulikuthikadu too.