Aravakurichi eagerly awaits MLA

Left without an MLA since September 2017 when V Senthil Balaji was disqualified, residents have a handful of demands which need to be fulfilled on a war-footing. Locals say they have been forced to run from pillar to post even to get their basic needs sorted. The elected representative must tap into the high potential for development of agriculture and industries in the region, they added.

Aravakurichi is famous for its extensive cultivation of drumsticks, with hundreds of loads being transported to several States, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The vegetable grown here is known for its taste and attracts traders, who come in hoards to buy the produce.

According to sources, drumstick is cultivated in more than 10,000 acres here. Most of the crop raised in this region is brought to special drumstick shandies that have been temporarily set up at Aravakurichi, Esanatham, Indra Nagar, Pallappatti, Andipattikottai and Malaikovilur from where traders from both within the State and outside buy them in loads and transport them to various destinations by lorry. However, farmers have long been demanding for a cold storage facility to ensure that their yield doesn’t go waste.

“It (cold storage facility) used to be the usual promise of candidates standing for any election here, but no one has taken steps to fulfil the promise till now,” said R Subramanian, a farmer from Aravakurichi.

He said that the facility was the most important demand from drumstick farmers in the region. “We also want a facility to make value-added products of the crop. We can make drumstick power, which is has a huge demand abroad. The elected MLA should initiate steps to establish one such unit in the region,” Subramanian further said.

The Thathampalayam lake has played a vital role in irrigating more than 10 panchayats in and around Aravakurichi for around 30 years. However, poor maintenance has led to the water body becoming dry in due course of time.

Locals said that the lake got water till the check dam was constructed across river Amaravathi in Karur. After it came into existence, the excess water was diverted to other areas and thus deprived the lake of regular supply. “It is high time the panchayat took over the maintenance of the lake, which is presently under the control of the Forest Department. This would then help irrigate at least 20,000 acres in the region,” K Balu, a farmer from Aravakurichi said.

Though the entire Karur revenue district is considered to be an industrial hub, particularly for bus body building, textile and mosquito net knitting units, Aravakurichi has a few bus body building units functioning at K-Paramathi. Locals claim that firms prefer Karur region when there is potential for expanding their units in Aravakurichi. However, they are reportedly hesitating to do so due to lack of basic amenities. There is also a widespread call for a cooperative society-run cotton mill at Malaikovilur, which has been closed for over 20 years, to be restarted. “Locals have been fighting for opening the mill, which would provide employment to at least 1,000 people directly or indirectly,” said M Selvaraj, who is from the area.

The groundwater level has been deteriorating gradually in the region, while the quality of water has also worsened. Following public representations, political parties have promised to solve the drinking water issue through the introduction of the combined Cauvery drinking water scheme. Residents, however, want a quick and permanent solution for their water woes.

Water quality is especially poor in K-Paramathi, Pallapatti and Chinnadharapuram, forcing residents to stage a series of protests for potable water. They claim that the drinking water issue is far more pressing than other problems in the region and hence requires the full commitment of the incoming MLA.