Chennai

While locals claimed that the district that stretched across 3394 sq km was too large, social activists here said that Tiruvallur was apt to undergo bifurcation as most residents had to spend hours to visit the district headquarters with their grievances.

“The district boasts of three rivers, namely Arani, Kosasthalaiyar and Cooum flowing in the district, which also has around 500 lakes and 1112 ponds. Three Revenue department offices in Tiruvallur, Tiruttani and Ponneri cover more than 526 village panchayats.

The total population in the district is 37,28,104 according to the 2011 census. Now it would have increased,” Gajendran (52), an activist, said. He claimed that residents of Ponneri had to travel more than 70 km from their locality to Tiruvallur town to place their complaints with the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police.

When asked about the locals’ demand for bifurcation, RDO Nandha Kumar said that a petition from Munirathinam, the president of Vivasaigal Sangam, had been received and  that they were considering it.

Munirathinam, in his petition, claimed that thousands of families of farmers were living below poverty level in the district and that they could not get any benefits as the Revenue officials often ignored them due to the sheer size of the district.

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