Minister inspects tribal hamlets atop Alleri hillock in Vellore to provide basic amenities
Minister of Handlooms, Textiles and Khadi M. Vijay Balaji inspected remote tribal hamlets atop Alleri hillock, which is part of Jawadhu Hills, in Vellore on
Minister of Handlooms, Textiles and Khadi M. Vijay Balaji inspected remote tribal hamlets atop Alleri hillock, which is part of Jawadhu Hills, in Vellore on Friday after residents demanded basic amenities. Accompanied by Collector P.S. Leela Alex and M. Vijay Chandran, District Health Officer (DHO), Mr. Balaji interacted with tribals in the hamlets. They also inspected government facilities, including a school and a fair price shop, which were functioning in a rented building. “We have apprised about the need for basic facilities like road, health centre, borewells, and regular power supply in the hills,” said K.
Veeran, a tribal. At present, Alleri hillock has three big tribal villages namely Peenjamanthai, Jarthankollai, and Palampattu villages. Alleri tribal hamlet was part of Peenjamanthai village panchayat before the hamlet was bifurcated to become a seperate panchayat in 2025. The hamlet has around 300 families. DRDA officials said that the proposed bitumen road will connect Varadalampattu with Nelli Marakollai village, a distance of 8 km, in the hills. Of the total eight km, five kilometres of the stretch will be laid in Alleri Reserve Forest (RF).
The new stretch will help eight remote hamlets of Alleri village panchayat, which comprises 12 hamlets with a population of around 2,000 tribals. The new road will be at least five-metre-wide. The new stretch will have at least 15 culverts to discharge excess rainwater and prevent damage to the carriageway during monsoon. The entire work, which will be completed in six months once started, will cost ₹17 crore. Another long-standing demand of residents was a full-fledged government health centre. The Minister said that a special tribal health centre will be set up.
The proposed centre will have two duty doctors and staff nurses. Separate wards for treatment, especially for snake bites will be set up. Laboratory facilities, fully furnished pharmacies with adequate stock will be available. At present, Peechamandai and Aravatla along the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border are the only two tribal hamlets that have government health centres in the district. Both hamlets are accessible by bitumen roads.
The BriefWire