After years of being denied access to public transport, tribal residents of Chemmanarai village in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu celebrated the arrival of the first state transport bus to their village by dancing to indigenous music. The Kotagiri-Chemmanarai bus, which will connect more than seven villages and hamlets of Konavakarai panchayat, was inaugurated by state Tourism Minister K Ramachandran and Nilgiris MP A Raja on Sunday, April 16. More than 600 residents from the Kurumba and Irula tribes will benefit from the bus service, which will be operated thrice a day.
The road for the bus route was laid in 2017 after repeated demands. However, public transportation remained out of reach for the tribal residents of nearly 130 households living in the villages of Maamaram, Kunjapanai, Kozhikarai, Koopukaadu, Kozhithorai, and Chemmanarai. The residents have persistently demanded a bus service for years, as its absence had hampered their daily life, and their children’s access to education in particular. In November last year, students of the Chemmanarai Government Tribal Residential school held a protest at the office of the Nilgiris district Collector, demanding a bus along their school route.
Speaking to TNM, Malliga, an Irula tribal woman, said she was really happy with the new bus, as it allows her to visit her children more often at their government residential school. She recalls that when her daughter fell ill a few weeks ago, the family had to spend over Rs 1200 to hire a jeep so she could attend her Class 11 exams from home. “For a daily wager like me, it was a huge expense,” Malliga said.
Before the bus service, school students and other residents were forced to trek for nearly 12 km back and forth to reach the nearest town. Students often had to fear for their lives, due to the presence of wildlife in the region. The tribal residents were often forced to hire jeeps at high fares to transport forest produce, and even to visit hospitals for medical emergencies.
Thirumoorthy, a Kurumbar tribesman from Chemmanarai, echoed Malliga’s views, saying the new bus could help avoid dropouts among school students. He added that the bus would also enable easy, affordable transport of farmers’ produce such as pepper, coffee, and tea to the nearest market in Kotagiri, boosting their business prospects.
Natraj, another Kurumbar man, demanded that the government increase the number of trips per day. “Some of us work late hours, and could easily miss the last bus from Kotagiri at 5.15 pm,” he said, adding that the trips must be increased during weekends too, to account for a rise in ridership.