The District Rural Development Agency on Thursday began the work to lay bitumen road on the stretch between Naganathi and Thonaiyankollai tribal hamlets atop Jarthankollai hillock in Vellore district.
Accompanied by S. Kalanidhi, District Forest Officer (DFO), Vellore , and K. Aarthi, Project Director (DRDA), Collector P. Kumaravel Pandian laid the foundation for the work on the hillock.
DRDA officials said the stretch was formed as a pathway way back in 1925 by the British to monitor the thick forest areas. Since then, the pathway has been used by the tribals in the hillock. “Based on a resolution passed by the village panchayat, the proposal was sent to the Forest Department, which was received in April 2023,” M. Kavitha, Assistant Engineer (A.E), Kaniyambadi block (Vellore), told The Hindu.
