Residents of Padalayarkulam at the Tirunelveli Collectorate on Monday.
| Photo Credit: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
A group of villagers from Padalaiyarkulam near Kalakkad in the district submitted petition to Collector K.P. Karthikeyan on Monday appealing to him to instruct the officials to relay the road in their hamlet, which was dug for laying drinking water pipes eight months ago.
The villagers said trenches were dug along the middle of the concrete roads in four streets of Padalaiyaarkulam for giving drinking water connections to the houses. Though the pipes were laid eight months ago, the badly damaged roads are yet to be relaid by the village panchayat.
“Consequently, road accidents involving two-wheelers have become common while four senior citizens have fallen down and suffered fractures because of the bad condition of the road. When we took up the issue with the panchayat president, he replied that he would never sanction fund for relaying the damaged road as the villagers of Padalaiyarkulam did not vote for him. Hence, the Collector should instruct the officials to visit the village and take steps for relaying the road. Moreover, the damaged drainage channels should also be reconstructed,” the petitioners said.
Protesting the move to give permission for stone quarrying near their village, a group of residents from Chidambarapuram in Radhapuram union submitted a petition to the Collector.
The petitioners said preliminary survey is being done near Athukurichi for giving permission for a new stone quarry. Though there is an old house and two windmills within 300 metres from the proposed site and a government high school within a Km, the preliminary works and survey are going on for giving permission for stone quarrying.
“Since stone-laden lorries will be passing through the village, it will pose serious threat to the villagers as we have witnessed fatal accidents caused by such trucks in Radhapuram union. Moreover, stone quarrying will deplete groundwater and kill floriculture. Hence, we passed a resolution in the gram sahba meeting on January 26 against the proposal. Hence, the Collector should not give permission for the new stone quarry,” said M. Baby, president of Chidambarapuram panchayat.
Former panchayat president of Vadakku Thaazhaiyooththu P. Krishnaveni submitted a petition to the Collector seeking armed police protection as she came under a murderous attack in 2011. Ms. Krishnaveni, who was the heading Vadakku Thaazhaiyooththu village panchayat between 2006 and 2011, was hacked by an armed gang and the attackers were awarded double life imprisonment in last October.
“Now, the accomplices of the convicts are planning to kill me. When the father of one of these conspirators came to know about this plot, he was attacked by his son. After filing complaint with the police about his son for attacking him, he also alerted me about the plot. Hence, I should be given armed police protection,” Ms. Krishnaveni said.
Published – February 03, 2025 09:02 pm IST