Separate district and civic issues are prominent in Attur Assembly constituency

The Attur (SC) constituency, located 50 km away from Salem town, is predominantly an agricultural area for tapioca cultivation and Attur has dozens of sago factories.

The constituency was represented by the AIADMK (1991, 2001, 2011, 2016, and 2021) and the Congress (1962, 1977, 1980, 1984, and 2006) five times each and by the DMK four times (1967, 1971, 1989, and 1996).

S. Rajendran, a tapioca farmer, said that Attur is one of the largest tapioca-cultivating areas in Tamil Nadu. But the price fixed by the sago factories for the tapioca is not enough. Sagoserve functioning in Salem ensures the quality of sago produced and exported. A Sagoserve branch should be established in Attur, he said.

A. Jayaraman, a resident of Ramanaickenpalayam, said that farmers have been demanding construction of a small dam at Ramanaickenpalayam for the last 20 years.

A.K. Kanagaraj, a resident of Vellalapatti, said that residents of Vellalapatti, Ganesapuram, Neiyamalai Foothills, Kanavaikadu, and Kurichi rural areas suffer without mobile phone signals. “We have submitted multiple petitions but there is no action,” he said. Farmers have been demanding for years for water from the Puzhuthikuttai dam through a lift irrigation scheme to Vellalapatti, which will benefit over 2,000 hectares of agricultural land. The Vashishta River, which flows in Attur, was once used for drinking water purposes. But now, sewage released into it from in and around Attur is flowing, he said.

P. Siva, a resident of Attur, said that for the past 10 years, people have been demanding bifurcation of Salem district to create Attur as a separate district. Political parties, including the PMK and the KMDK, raised this issue many times and in 2014, AIADMK MLA S. Madheswaran raised this demand in the Assembly. People residing in Attur and Thalaivasal travel 50 km and 70 km respectively, to reach Salem.

N. Madeswaran, a resident of Attur municipality, said that drinking water supply is the main issue in the municipality as the supply is just twice or thrice a month from the Attur-Nangavalli combined drinking water scheme. A new dedicated water supply scheme is needed or the existing pipelines should be replaced and water should be supplied at regular intervals, he added.

M. Saravanan, a resident of Narasingapuram, said that all the buses headed to Attur bus stand from Salem pass through the narrow roads of Narasingapuram. The Narasingapuram-Attur stretch has narrow roads in many places and traffic issues are common in the mornings and evenings. The bus stand should be shifted from Attur to the outer area to reduce the traffic.