Road to Sundapur in Erode remains a dream as project awaits final clearance
Residents of Sundapur village in the Bargur Hills of Erode district have once again pressed for a motorable road and bus connectivity by erecting a
Residents of Sundapur village in the Bargur Hills of Erode district have once again pressed for a motorable road and bus connectivity by erecting a signboard at the entrance to the village, saying their decades-old demand continues to remain unfulfilled. The hamlet, with over 150 Lingayat families, is located about six kilometres off the Thamaraikarai–Bargur stretch on the Anthiyur–Kollegal Road. It can be reached only through a 3-km forest track passing through the Thamaraikarai Reserve Forest in the Bargur Range, followed by another 3-km stretch under the Bargur panchayat in Anthiyur Union. Barring a one-kilometre stretch laid by the panchayat, which is now in a damaged condition, the village has never had a tarred road.
The remaining gravel track, with protruding stones, becomes difficult to negotiate, particularly during the rainy season. Villagers have been demanding a proper road for several decades. In April this year, residents announced that they would boycott the Assembly election to press for their demand. They withdrew the protest after officials assured them that steps would be taken to execute the project. Roadblocks persist A road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Phase III, sanctioned in 2021 at an estimated cost of ₹2.82 crore, could not be taken up because of issues relating to forest land diversion. Of the 18,000 sq. m required for the project, only 8,100 sq.
m is available. Another 10,000 sq. m has been identified as compensatory land and an online proposal has been submitted. The Union government accorded in-principle approval on May 2, 2025, for the diversion of 1.494 hectares of forest land. However, final clearance is still awaited. On August 14, 2025, the Principal Conservator of Forests, Chennai, sought ₹80.65 lakh towards compensatory afforestation, land value, and a wildlife mitigation plan. Though the process to settle the compensation is under way, the Rural Development Department, the user agency, is yet to remit the amount, leaving the project pending for nearly 10 months. Residents await relief Residents said that for generations they had been waiting for a road and bus service.
Even now, pregnant women and patients are carried in cloth cradles to the main road during the rainy season before being taken to hospital. “We have been waiting not for years, but for generations. Our only demand is a motorable road,” a resident said, urging the State government to expedite the pending formalities. The villagers said they hoped the project would be completed and bus services introduced before the end of the year.
The BriefWire