Palamalai villagers in Salem district get road connectivity, at last

SALEM: Tribals and villagers in Palamalai have no more to climb trees and rocks to reach Mettur to buy groceries from the ration shop or don’t have to trek 15 kms carrying pregnant women or sick or old people to reach a good hospital as their decades-long demand for a road connectivity has been met at last.
Palamalai, situated at a height of 4,920 feet from sea level in Mettur taluk, had remained without having basic amenities, electricity and even a road for years.Politicians and officials had seldom visited the place.
Mettur MLA S R Parthiban (DMDK), who came to know about the hardships of the villagers, conducted grievance camps at Palamalai at least thrice after the last Tamil Nadu assembly elections in 2011.
“In the last 10 years since 2002, the villagers have made resolutions in every grama sabha meetings and sent it to the notice of the government. But no action was taken. The fund allotted for Palamalai remained idle. This issue was brought to my notice following which I spoke to forest department officials and got their permission to pave a road,” Parthiban told TOI.
Parthiban donated Rs 3 lakh from his salary, besides Rs 50 lakh from his MLA’s constituency fund for the project. “I gathered my eight months’ salary and donated Rs 3 lakh to the villagers for pave the road,” the MLA said.
“Palamalai people requested me to construct 11 small bridges, solar lights and water pipes. So I allotted Rs 50 lakh. I am ready to contribute much more for the benefits of Palamalai villagers,” Parthiban added.
N Ramasamy, a villager, said while their demands had been ignored for many decades, a representation made by the Palamalai Scheduled Tribes Malayali Association in 2002 to the National Commission for STs was reviewed sympathetically and forwarded to the collector.
“The collector gave his consent to the proposal and included it in the Prime Minister’s Sadak Yojana Scheme. Though the fund was allocated for the same, the forest department hadn’t give clearance for the project for long. Clearance was pending until a few months ago,” Ramasamy said.