With lack of mobile connectivity causing hardship to the residents and students of Gundri panchayat in Kadambur hills, people urged the district administration to install a mobile tower.
About 6,200 persons live in 15 habitations in the panchayat that comes under the Sathyamangalam Panchayat Union.
People traverse the 15 km road from Kadambur, including a 9.5 km road that passes through the Guthiyalathur Reserve Forest in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve to reach their habitations. Since mobile connectivity is not available in the panchayat, people and students travel 2 km on the forest road and arrive at a spot where connectivity is available. Their demand for mobile connectivity remains unfilled all these years.
On Tuesday evening, people from the panchayat led by K. Ramasamy, secretary, Communist Party of India, Kadambur block, met District Collector H. Krishnanunni and submitted a petition. The petition said that there are 3,500 families in the habitations while a government high school, private high schools, panchayat union primary school and special training centres, run under the National Child Labour Projects, are functioning in the habitations. About 650 school students and 120 college students are in the habitations.
The petition said that in the absence of internet connectivity, students face hardship as they could not attend the online classes conducted due to COVID-19 from May, 2020. The petition said that people cannot communicate with their relatives or call the ambulance service during emergencies.
“Travelling 2 km to a spot and making phone calls are dangerous as wild animals are present in the area”, the petition said and added that attending online classes continue to be a challenge for the students. “They have lost their learning opportunity in the past one-and-a-half year”, they said and urged the administration to take steps to install a mobile tower.
Mr. Krishnanunni told them that a private mobile operator was asked to conduct a feasibility study for installing a tower in the habitation so that the long-pending demand of the people is met.
Published - September 08, 2021 11:21 pm IST
