Residents of S.Eripalayam thronging the Cuddalore Collectorate on Monday.
CUDDALORE:
Hundreds of residents of S. Eripalayam in Panruti block, who thronged the Collectorate here on Monday, urged the authorities to declare their village a separate panchayat or else they would boycott the Assembly elections.
In a representation addressed to Collector P. Seetharaman, village leader R. Narasan said that there were 2,000 residents in S.Eripalayam, comprising Vanniyars, Adi Dravidars, potters, Christians and Muslims, and of them 1,500 were eligible voters. It had been the long-standing demand of the residents that the village be made panchayat. At present, the village was bifurcated for administrative reasons and attached to two panchayats, namely Siruvathur and Semakottai.
Therefore, the village had virtually disappeared from the official records, thus making it difficult for the residents to get important official documents such as passports and nativity certificates. Even for getting educational aid, scholarships, farm loans and certification from the Village Administrative Officers, villagers had to travel more than six km to reach either Siruvathur or Semakottai. Mr. Narasan said that S. Eripalayam was bereft of basic facilities such as a community hall, fair price shop, proper roads and so on. Even the village pond was in bad condition.
In an identical representation, members of 28 women self-help groups in the village said that none of groups had a building of their own. Since the village's name did not find a place in ration cards, it was difficult to open bank accounts and apply for passports. Therefore, as far as official record was concerned, the village had become a non-entity. Mr. Narasan pointed out that while rules permitted formation of a panchayat even with 500 voters, S. Eripalayam with 1,500 voters was placed in a pre-eminent position to get the panchayat status
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