Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Residents observe fast demanding re-laying of Sundakkamuthur road

Special Correspondent

Campaign to continue as present condition posed risk to life

COIMBATORE: Residents of Sundakkamuthur, Kovaipudur, Ramachettipalayam and Kulathupalayam observed a fast at Gandhipuram here on Monday to demand the re-laying of the Ukkadam-Sundakkamuthur Road.

The State general secretary of the Janata Party, M. Perur Nagaraj, had announced a week ago the fast would be observed in front of the Kuniamuthur Municipality that had control over the road. The venue was, however, shifted to Gandhipuram where it sought to draw the attention of the authorities and the public to the plight of those using the road that begins from the city border.

Hardship

Mr. Nagaraj, who led the fast and the campaign for the road, said that the people in these areas had been put to hardship by the poor condition of the road for many years. The road, beginning near Ukkadam, was a shorter route to Kovaipudur. Its condition forced people to take a circuitous route through Athupalayam and Kuniamuthur on the Palakkad Road. In a memorandum submitted to the district administration recently, Mr. Nagaraj had also appealed for a bridge across River Noyyal on way to Kovaipudur as the existing causeway proved dangerous during flash floods. But, the municipality had pointed out that the causeway came under the Coimbatore Corporation limits. Therefore the municipality could not take up any scheme for a bridge at the spot. As for the road, the letter explained that the municipality had drawn up a project for Rs. 30 lakh to re-lay the road. The scheme was to be implemented under the Rural Self-sufficiency Scheme. The work was given to a contractor through the District Rural Development Agency. The letter said that the work had been cleared on November 29 last year and had been asking the contractor who had taken up the work to begin it soon.

Quoting officials, Mr. Nagaraj said the contractor was not willing to take up the work owing to the Government-fixed rates for construction materials and labour being far below the prevailing ones. This had caused the delay in the work being done. Mr. Nagaraj said the campaign for the re-laying of the road would be sustained as its present condition posed risk to life.

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