It was one of the largest districts in Tamil Nadu until now. With a population of a little over 39 lakh, 13 taluks and measuring around 200 km from one end to another (Tirupattur to Arakkonam), Vellore district has now been officially trifurcated.
Hoping that this will open the doors to better administration, the residents say infrastructural development and improvement of amenities are the need of the hour.
On Wednesday, a Government Order was issued to trifurcate Vellore district into Vellore, Tirupattur and Ranipet districts. Three new revenue divisions have been created — Gudiyatham, Vaniyambadi and Arakkonam, and a new taluk has been added — K.V. Kuppam.
Vellore district, with its headquarters in Vellore, will have two revenue divisions of Vellore and Gudiyatham and six revenue taluks of Vellore, Anaicut, Katpadi, Gudiyatham, Pernambut and K.V. Kuppam. Two revenue divisions of Tirupattur and Vaniyambadi and four revenue taluks of Tirupattur, Vaniyambadi, Natrampalli and Ambur will constitute Tirupattur district, while Ranipet district will comprise two revenue divisions of Ranipet and Arakkonam, and four revenue taluks of Walajah, Arcot, Nemili and Arakkonam.
One of the main benefits for the public as well as officials is reduction in travelling time, a cross-section of them say.
Farmers from areas such as Tirupattur, Nemili, Arakkonam have to travel for more than an hour to reach the Collector’s office in Sathuvachari.
“I reside in Nemili, and travelling to Sathuvachari takes at least an hour and a half. Moreover, it was difficult to meet officials at all times as their workload was high as the district was large. Now, the area has shrunk and it will make travelling easy. We have also requested the special officer to select a place that is central for people from Ranipet and Arakkonam to visit to establish the Collectorate. A place in Walajah or Kaveripakkam will be suitable,” R. Subash, a farmer in Thiruvalayam in Nemili, said.
Better administration
An official said trifurcating the district would pave way for better administration.
K. Suriya Achari, former councillor of Vellore Corporation, said that the city has no flyovers. “The Smart Cities project is being implemented but there is no detail on how many flyovers are being planned.
“There should be measures to improve traffic flow. We need better and more bus terminals such as in places like Bagayam,” he said.
E. Vijayaraj, president of Ambur Consumer Protection Council, said they have already submitted a petition requesting that the Revenue Divisional Office/Sub Collector office should come up at Minnur near Ambur.
“This will enable easy accessibility for people as it is closer to the national highways. Government land is available at Minnur,” he said.
He said with Tirupattur now being made into a district, development of basic amenities such as roads and bus terminals is imperative. “Tirupattur is a heavily congested area. Now it is the headquarters for the district and measures to decongest should be taken. A ring road should be planned and developed,” he said.
