Can you believe that there are villages in Coimbatore district without electricity? ... Yes, the bitter truth is that there are. Some tribal villages under the Anamalai Tiger Reserve have been shrouded in darkness for all these years.
Among them is the village called Koomatti, struggling even for basic amenities, with huts that leak in the rain, houses left half-built, and people suffering in the dark.
Half-built houses!
Koomatti tribal village is located in a dense forest area near Topslip, under the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. Around 45 tribal families live here, and in the absence of adequate basic facilities for them, allegations have arisen that the newly constructed houses have also remained incomplete for the past three years, standing half-finished.
Speaking about this, Kumar from Koomatti village said, “There are 45 families in our village. Of these, new houses were started for 22 families. But even after three years, the houses have not been fully completed. All the houses are left half-finished. For three houses, pits were dug, but no work has even been started.
The old thatched houses already leaked in the rain. Now the newly built houses also have no roof. Because of this, we have put up a makeshift setup using tin sheets. When it rains, the tin sheets leak too. We can’t even sit inside. So we manage by laying a tarpaulin over the tin sheets.
“Even after repeatedly telling the authorities about this, they keep saying they will build it, but we still haven’t seen it built,” he alleged.
’Solar light that gives no light’
Continuing, he said, “There is no electricity facility in our village. They have installed solar bulbs only on the street. Every house still uses kerosene lamps. If it rains, the solar battery won’t charge.
If it’s sunny, it charges a little. Even then, the solar street light only burns from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Because of this, our entire village is struggling in darkness. We are suffering without basic facilities like this,” he said in anguish.
‘Will the work be completed soon?’
Paramasivam, district deputy president of the Tamil Nadu Hill Tribes Association, said, “In Koomatti village, the work of constructing new houses under the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department was started, but even after three years it has not been completed.
Because of this, the people of that village are struggling even to sleep peacefully, without a roof or a house. The construction work being carried out for them is also moving at a snail’s pace, as if done carelessly. Not only that, they are building houses in poor quality. This work should be completed quickly and quality houses should be built for them.
Similarly, right next to Koomattikku there is the Maanampalli power house. The electricity generated there is taken to places far away. But it is not supplied to the houses nearby. Immediate electricity connections should be provided to all houses through underground power cables.
Because half the people in the same family are registered as voters in Valparai Municipality and the other half in Vettaikkaranpudur Town Panchayat, they are unable to vote. To prevent this, all the Koomatti tribal people should be registered as voters in Vettaikkaranpudur Town Panchayat,” he stressed.
Will dawn come for the lives of the tribal people suffering in darkness?...