Tamil Nadu - Kancheepuram   

Proposed ‘Global Automotive Centre’ inspires hopes among youth

PATH AHEAD: A road laid abutting the SIPCOT Industrial Park, which leads to Vaipur and Eraiyur hamlets.

KANCHEEPURAM: Unemployed youth living in hamlets between Padappai and Oragadam are pinning their hopes on the “Global Automotive Centre” to be set up by the Ministry of Heavy Industries at the SIPCOT Industrial Park, Oragadam.

A visit to villages such as Karanithangal, Vaipur, Eraiyur, Maathur and Oragadam, where lands were acquired by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) for setting up the Industrial Park, revealed that applications from local youth, even from those having ITI diplomas, were not being entertained by the industrial units that have come up in the area.

While the youngsters were absorbed for daily wages by the contractors who have taken up ground-levelling or construction works at the industrial sites, companies which have begun manufacturing activity, preferred to engage local youth either for housekeeping or for watch-and-ward assignments, that too, on contract basis, villagers lamented.

Talking to The Hindu, the vice-president of Vaipur panchayat, E. Baskaran, said none of the youngsters from 80-odd families residing in Vaipur had been employed in any of the industries. Instead youngsters from far-off places such as Tiruchi, Madurai etc. were absorbed for various works for a monthly remuneration of Rs.3000 to Rs.5000. These youngsters form themselves into groups and stay in rented rooms in the Padappai or Mudichur areas, he added.

Further any plea for assistance for conducting health camps or request for adoption of hamlets were being turned down by the company officials by stating that they were not the competing authority to decided on such requests, he added.

Responding to question on employment opportunities for local youth, a group of youngsters at Eraiyur said that they were pinning their hopes on the “Global Automotive Centre” being set up by the Union Government under the National Automotive Testing and Research and Development Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) in the SIPCOT industrial area.

While the chances of getting employed in companies functioning in their own area remain a distant dream for youngsters, frequent surveys / inspections conducted by lower-level revenue officials have virtually kept farmers from taking up farming activity on the wet lands that were hitherto untouched by the SIPCOT.

“There is enough water in the huge well near ‘periya eri’ (Vaipur big lake) to irrigate around 70 acres of land. But, the farmers are in a dilemma to take up cultivation, as they are not sure that these lands will not be touched by SIPCOT in the near future. Further, entire catchment area of this lake had been converted into industrial park and open drains have been dug in order to drain floodwater into the Karanithangal or Padappai areas”, Mr.Baskaran added.

Claiming that similar situation prevailed in almost all hamlets, he alleged that sinking of deep borewells up to a depth of 200 feet and above by the companies for their construction activities had turned the groundwater saline.

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