Braving odds: Neknamalai still awaits road, healthcare

Residents of the village boycotted the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to mount pressure on officials but nothing has changed on the ground

- DHEEPTHI O J @Tirupattur

SWEAT drips from his forehead as 74-year-old Margabandu M slowly climbs the stony terrain of Neknamalai Hills in Tirupattur, braving the 37-degree heat. Panting, he stops under a neem tree for relief. "Idhu enga oor AC (this is the air-conditioner of our village)," he says, inviting us into the shade. He carries a manjapai full of vegetables—his supply for the next few days. After resting for an hour, he resumes his long trek home, the hills stretching endlessly before him.

About 650 people, mostly engaged in agriculture, live in this hill village, 10 km from Vaniyambadi. The village is part of Neknamalai panchayat, which has around 1,998 people, including those at Purushothama Kuppam and A D Colony in the foothills. Like everyone in Neknamalai, Margabandu walks nearly 10 km for essentials—4 km on a perilous hill road, fraught with loose stones, uneven terrain and steep inclines, and another 6 km on the plains to reach Vaniyambadi. Even single riders on two-wheelers struggle on the muddy, twisting path.

"It takes about two hours to walk four kilometers; now, at my age, it will take me three," he tells TNIE. "I have to make such trips every three to four days for vegetables."