Mangalam Dam: The residents of the Thalikakkallu tribal colony are left high and dry due to the inordinate delay in the road construction work on the Kadappara-Thalikakkallu stretch located in Alathur taluk.
The residents will be totally cut off from the outside world if there is heavy rain. The journey from the colony in Kadappara forest to Pothenthode will be a nightmare then since the stream, dividing the two places, will be in full spate. With rain picking up in the area, people have put rocks across the stream to cross it. Two children had drowned in the stream in the past.
Almost 80 percent work of the Rs 3.15 crore Kadappara-Thalikakkallu road is over but further work is stalled since January due to non-payment of dues to the contractor. The promise of the authorities to build a bridge remains unfulfilled. It is alleged that the contractor didn’t get any money for the bridge construction though funds had been allocated for the same.
Ten kids from the colony are studying at Kadappara LP School but they are unable to attend classes in the absence of a proper road. The residents can't go to the market to buy essential commodities. Raghvan, leader of the Thalikakkallu tribal settlement, said many people are down with fever in the colony but they can’t visit a hospital for treatment.
It is a paradox that the only tribal colony in the Alathur taluk is in distress though crores of rupees are set aside for the welfare of the tribal population.
