Madras High Court sends notice to Ariyalur collector

Chennai: An agriculturist has approached the Madras high court to direct the authorities to complete the repair work of the Kodukkur-Manakkudayan (via Marungoor) old road at Sendurai taluk in Ariyalur district, immediately. A division bench, comprising justices M. Duraiswamy and R. Mahadevan, before whom the PIL filed by P. Elanchezhiyan came up for hearing on Wednesday, ordered notice to the Ariyalur collector and four others and posted the hearing of the case to June 10.

According to the petitioner, the Kodukkur-Manakkudayan (via Marungoor) old road was laid in 1997-98 under the marketing committee scheme.Even before the construction, the road was used by the people as a public road. In fact, for over two decades, residents of about 25 villages in and around Sendurai taluk have been using the road. It’s also said the road was encroached upon by Ramco Cements and later damaged.

The villagers questioned the action of the cements major and approached the collector demanding remedial measures. But contractor Palanisamy, entrusted with the work of re-laying the old road, simply stopped work. According to the petition, when the villagers met the collector, they were told that since the public road passed through the property of Ramco Cements, nothing could be done about it.