When Subramani (name changed), 31, a resident of Thengumarahada in the Nilgiris wanted to register a complaint with the Nilgiris police, he had to travel a distance of more than 100 kilometers, taking an early morning bus, one of only two buses that visit the village, through a circuitous route via Bhavani Sagar in Erode district and Mettupalayam in Coimbatore and finally to the Sholur Mattam police station in the Nilgiris.
For the residents of Thegumarahada village, nestled among the eastern slopes of the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) as well as the Adivasi villagers in the adjoining villages of Kallampalayam, Alli Moyar and Puthukkad, availing of any government service, usually requires long hours of travel to Kotagiri, taking upwards of five hours each way.
