Residents including women, farmers, petty traders and students in Arasampattu village near here blocked the Pudur Nadu-Tirupattur town main road, which is maintained by the Department of State Highways, on Tuesday against encroachment of the narrow road and denial of access to it by residents, who are mostly tribals. An assault on a man, who complained against the encroachment, triggered the protest.
Residents said Arasampattu remains a key link to tribal villages like Pudur Nadu and Nellivasal Nadu on the eastern side of Jawadhu Hills. The tribal villages consist of more than 20 remote hamlets, forming separate village panchayats. The existing Pudur Nadu - Tirupattur town main road is the arterial road for villages to reach major towns like Jolarpet, Tirupattur, Kandali and Vaniyambadi. “A small group of individuals has encroached on a portion of the stretch and blocked residents from using it. It has affected free flow of traffic on the route,” said S. Mayan, a resident.
The police said the issue began when K. Sivakumar, 34, a mason, questioned the encroachment of the public road by C. Anand Muthu, 47, V. Anandan, 40, and B. Geminiganesan, 39. The trio had erected a temporary asbestos shed on the portion of the stretch, which is at least six feet wide and belongs to the State Highways, to stock cement bags and other construction materials of their shop a week ago.
