ARIYALUR: Life is short, the saying goes. Nowhere else does this play out more clearly than in Ariyalur where commercial interests get priority over human lives. The ample presence of limestone in the region resulted in at least seven cement makers, including State-owned ones, setting up manufacturing units. Of the seven plants, four are in Ariyalur, two in Sendurai, and one in Thirumanur.
If employment generation and economic development are plus points, constant movement of trucks and the threat they pose to pedestrians and other road users are the flop side. While officialdom does not have the exact number of trucks that criss-cross the districts, locals and activists estimate that a minimum of 1000 trucks, including tippers and bulk carriers, would be moving in and out of the cement plants.
“The trucks are a constant threat and should be regulated. Speed governors must be made compulsory. Further, roads should be laid exclusively from the limestone quarries to the cement plants and trucks must avoid public roads. The trucks which do not slow down at accident-prone areas should be penalised heavily,” said R Arulmozhivarman, IT engineer from Mullukruichi, who works in Chennai.
Not just road users, residents too face the brunt of the truck movement. The houses surrounding the quarries including Alathiyur, Periyakurichi, Mullukurichi, Kottaikaadu, Tulaar are coated with fine dust, courtesy the trucks that carry limestone.
Lives snuffed out
While locals have got accustomed to the pollution, new comers, like this reporter, would instantly feel suffocated. Add to this, the constant buzz caused by movement of trucks. “We have got used to the noise. Only, the periods of long silence which takes us by surprise awakes us at night. Most of us suffer from breathing related ailments and it is no exaggeration to say that at least one member in every family has asthma, the result of constantly exposed to dust” said Neelamegam, activist in Pudupalayam.
“Our daughter was the most literate in our village. She didn’t want to get married soon and wanted to uplift our family by earning,” said Jayakodi, the 42-year-old mother of Jayalakshmi. She showed us photocopies of her daughter’s CV and M Sc, MEd certificates, that were blood stained. On May 30, 2014 , Jayalakshmi was returning home after attending a job interview when a huge truck rammed the bus near Ottakovil killing nine, including her, on the spot and injuring at least 40 persons.
“We are facing discrimination socially, sexually, financially in our village, even when it comes to using a community toilet in the village. Had our daughter been alive, she would have stood by us” said Jayakodi, who lives with her grandmother and sister. Her husband and son too are no more and the family ekes out a living running a grocery shop.
PTK Velumani runs a hotel in Ponparappi village, a dozen kilometres away from Ariyalur. He was about to be married on January 31, 2016, but tragedy struck. His fiance Sugandhi (29) and her mother, were riding pillion on a bike with her brother from their village Thamaraikulam to the Collectorate to apply for welfare aid. As they reportedly were waiting by the road to let a cement-laden truck pass, the driver lost control and ran over them. All the three died on the spot.
In Marungur, 27-year-old A Prabhakaran lost his leg in an accident also involving a cement truck in 2013. “My father is a farmer. I was preparing to go abroad for a job but the dream has crashed. I am not sure how I am going to help my family.”
An official in the RTO claims speed limit is strictly enforced in the district. “We have enforced speed limit in at least two stretches, including Anaikarai -Meensurutti stretch which is most vulnerable to accidents. We have also banned movement of trucks during peak hours and placeswhere school students are high. Butwe need speed breakers that adhere to ISO norms.”
Fatigued drivers
Truck drivers have their own stories to narrate. Michael (name changed), a tipper-truck driver in Sendurai said, “We get `500 a day and a minimum of `13,000 per month. For a day, we will go for two shifts, from 10 am to 2 pm, and 5.30 pm to 8.30 pm. We must meet daily target of minimum four trips from the quarry to the plant.”
Fourty two-year-old D Manikandan from Thulaar who had driven trucks for cement companies for eight years in his 20 years of experience ,laments, “Our life has always been hectic. We travel across states all the way towards North of India and get paid only when we reach the destination on time.Falling asleep when at the wheel is not uncommon. We get to sleep a maximum of six hours in between trips and two hours of sleep during a trip which lasts four to five days. Fatigue kills our bodies slowly. But deadline pressure plays on our minds.”
“There is no unity among the lorry drivers. They are not affiliated with our association either but bound to their contractors. When there is a collective imbalance in the employment relationship, truck drivers are unable to demand any privileges” said R Chitrambalam, District President of CITU.
When this reporter tried to seek the comment of newly appointed Collector M Vijayalakshmi, she refused to comment, saying “I have just taken charge of the district. It is too early for me to comment on anything. I am yet to know about completely about the district.”