VILLUPURAM: Residents of Karuvepillaipalayam village staged a protest carrying black flags on Thursday, protesting against their village being added to Kallakurichi district. Demanding the authorities to retain their village in Villupuram district, they threatened to surrender their ration card, Aadhaar card and voter identity card and also boycott the local body polls if their demands are not met.
“Nearly 5,000 people live in Karuvepillaipalayam village near Thiruvennainallur. Our village falls under four village panchayats - Madapattu, Siruthanur, Siruvalapattu and Kandalavady. After bifurcation of Villupuram district and formation of Kallakurichi district, Kandalavady came under Thiruvennainallur panchayat union in Villupuram district, while other three panchayats, under Thirunavalur panchayat union in Kallakurichi, “ said D Gandhi, a resident.
Another villager, S Anabarasan, said, “ After bifurcation, one house on a street comes under Thiruvennainallur panchayat union, and another, under Thirunavalur panchayat union.”Villagers said they have two police station limits in their village and two ration shops. This leads to confusion among people. Following bifurcation, people in Kallakuruchi district have to travel more than 80 km to reach the district headquarters.
They wanted to retain Karuvepillaipalayam in Villupuram district and also make it a single village panchayat. Making these demands, they organised protests and submitted petitions to district collectors and various department officials. However, no action was taken. So, they staged a protest once again on Thursday.