Tamil Nadu Assembly polls: Sundapur villagers withdraw poll boycott after assurance on road project in Erode district

The threat to boycott the April 23 Assembly election by residents of Sundapur in the Bargur Hills, under the Anthiyur Assembly constituency, was withdrawn after officials assured them that their demand for a road would be addressed after the polls.

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The remote hamlet, with 384 voters — including 195 men and 189 women — lies about 6 km off the Thamaraikarai–Bargur stretch on the Anthiyur–Kollegal Road. Home to Lingayat families, Sundapur can be accessed only by traversing a 3-km forest track through the Thamaraikarai Reserve Forest in the Bargur Range. This is followed by another 3-km stretch under the Bargur panchayat in Anthiyur Union. The settlement has never had a tar road, except for a 1-km stretch laid by the panchayat, which is now badly damaged. In the absence of a motorable road, with protruding gravel making movement difficult, residents have long been demanding a proper road.

A road project sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Phase III at an estimated cost of ₹2.82 crore in 2021 was subsequently cancelled. While about 18,000 sqmt is required for the project, only 8,100 sqmt is available. An additional 10,000 sqmt has been identified as compensatory land, and an application has been submitted online. The Centre has granted in-principle approval for the diversion of 1.494 hectares of forest land, and final clearance is awaited.

A banner bearing the message “Lay road, seek votes” was displayed at the entrance to the hamlet. Following a report titled “‘Lay road, seek votes’: Sundapur villagers in Bargur Hills demand connectivity” published in The Hindu on March 29, 2026, election officials from the Anthiyur constituency, along with police personnel, visited the hamlet and held talks with residents on three occasions. However, no progress was made as the residents remained firm in their demand.

On April 2, about 10 residents visited the office of the Block Development Officer (BDO) in Anthiyur for talks. Officials explained the status of the project and the Model Code of Conduct, under which new funds cannot be sanctioned during the election period.

“Based on the assurance, we decided to withdraw the protest and vote,” said a resident who participated in the meeting. The banner placed in the hamlet was removed. “The protest has been withdrawn only temporarily, and our demand must be met by the government formed after the election,” he added.

In the absence of a motorable road, pregnant women and patients are carried in cloth cradles to the main road during the rainy season, from where they are taken to hospitals.