Forest Road to connect tribal hamlets, hillock temple with plains along Vellore – Tirupattur border

Tribal families in Dharmakondaraja Hills at Guruvarajapalayam village along Vellore – Tirupattur border now have safe access to the ancient Lord Vishnu temple and farming hamlets as the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) opened a new stretch for public use on Wednesday.

DRDA officials said that the new stretch was laid between Poolankakuttai Road to Dharmakondaraja Koil Road, a distance of 2.6 km, on the hills. The stretch will help navigate thick forest areas in the hills. The entire work was completed at a cost of ₹1.68 crore. “The new stretch will not only give access to tribal families to reach the plains, but it will also help devotees in Vellore and surrounding villages to visit the temple in the hills,” G. Kalidas, Assistant Engineer (AE), DRDA (Vellore), told The Hindu.

DRDA officials said that at present, devotees use a mud pathway, which was made in 1916 to monitor the thick forest areas by the British. The Poolankakuttai and Dharmakondaja tribal hamlets form part of Guruvarajapalayam village panchayat. Around 1,600 families are inhabitants of these hamlets.

Corn, groundnut, banana, sugarcane, and millets are cultivated. “During festival season, the temple witnesses huge crowds. With the formation of a new stretch, bus services should be provided on the route,” said R. Sadiyan, a tribal. 

Funded under Tamil Nadu Savings Fund 2025-26, the work includes laying of a 3.75 metres wide stretch that connects the hillock to the foothills. Water pipelines to a distance of around 1,000 metres and a culvert were set up to discharge excess rainwater from the hills during monsoon. It will also help prevent damage to the new carriageway.

DRDA officials said that the role of the Forest Department was crucial in getting the first bitumen road to the hills as three hectares of forest land was donated by the Forest Department for the new road.