Amidst Karuvelam trees (Prosopis juliflora), a small stream in Gudimalur, a tiny village in Walajah taluk, near Ranipet, on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway, flows uninterrupted into the nearly-dry Palar.
The water is practically sludge, contaminated with untreated effluents from leather tanneries in Ranipet, Arcot and Walajah. Voters in these neighbourhoods seek an end to indiscriminate discharge of pollutants into the river. “We depend on the river for consumption, irrigating our paddy fields, grasslands for cattle rearing and for funerary rites. But, the river has become highly polluted,” said K. Rathinam, 52, a longtime resident in Walajah. The polluted stream flows through villages, including Mathangal Mottur, Muthukadai, V.C. Mottur, Vannivedu, Devathanam, Puliankannu, Nawlaq and Gudimalur, that fall in Walajah and Ranipet taluks in the district before joining the Palar.
The river is a major water source for Arcot, Walajah and Ranipet. Unlike Ranipet, which is dominated by industries, including leather tanneries and small and medium scale units, Arcot and Walajah still retain their ruralness with vast tracts of agricultural lands. They depend on the river water for domestic consumption and to irrigate their farmland. Another major concern are defunct street lights on roads connecting Ranipet, Arcot and Walajah to the highway. Proximity to the national highway makes these towns more preferable for goods-laden trucks from neighbouring States.
However, many street lights along the link roads that are defunct or stolen. For example, the stretch between the tollgate and Muthukadai village in Ranipet, a distance of 6 km, does not have a working street light. Also, those on the bridge that connect Ranipet with Walajah do not work.
As per norms, street lights even on the national highways should be maintained by the respective local bodies. In this case, the bridge falls under the limits of two municipalities — Ranipet and Walajah. Neither of these local bodies had taken any steps to repair the lights, residents said.
A spacious bus terminus, permanent common market and more doctors and staff for the primary health care centres are the other demands of voters in Ranipet district.
As many as 47,729 (Arcot), 42,707 (Ranipet) and 27,241 (Walajah) people will cast their votes in the district. There are 24 wards in Walajah and 30 each in Arcot and Ranipet. While 100 candidates are contesting in Ranipet, there are 98 in the fray in Arcot and 84 in Walajah.
