Aragalur

Thalaivasal bad roads

Road to Thalaivasal a nightmare
The Hindu: Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004

By Our Special Correspondent

ATTUR, NOV 1. For the villagers and school children of Navalakurichi, Veppanatham and Siruvachur in Thalaivasal union in Attur block, the day-to-day life is an ordeal. The bad condition of the road between Talaivasal and Pattuthurai via Veppanatham is a major cause of their nightmare.

These villages and hundreds of hamlets surrounding them are depending on agriculture. Hundreds of villagers are small landholders and have to depend on the Talaivasal-Pattuthurai road. The school-going children also undergo untold hardships. The bad condition of road has discouraged bus operators to venture on this bad road, which is full of huge craters and potholes.

But on many occasions the drivers often prefer not to take trips to the villages. If the villagers raise objections and question about the non-plying of buses, the operators would simply say that unless the road is freshly laid, they may not be in a position to operate their buses daily. The bus operators claim that their carriers suffer heavily on this bad road affecting the longevity of the vehicle. The fuel consumption also is high. It is not an uncommon sight to see the buses that develop technical snags getting stranded in the middle of the road.

Main road for farmers

In fact nearly 10,000 farmers, children and students, from the villages, says a farmer, depend on this stretch of road for their daily chores. Even for an emergency, one has to take this road to reach Talaivasal, the smaller town nearby. But unfortunately no taxi or autorickshaw would prefer to come. Hence the villagers have to use their two-wheelers to shift the patients to hospital.

But on most occasions the worst condition of the road would render the patient besieged with severe complications. Many of the tribals and people living in near-by hills also depend on this stretch for all purposes.

The villagers also claim that they have approached the Talaivasal MLA with the request of laying the road. But till today nothing worthwhile has happened, they say. Hence they urge the District administration to take up the road-laying work between Talaivasal and Pattuthurai via Veppanatham immediately to redress the grievances. They also submitted petitions to the Transport Minister and District Collector in this regard.