Arasaradi, by literal translation in Tamil, refers to the feet of a king. The royal possession conferred by the name belies what was seen in Arasaradi.
Located in the Western Ghats in Theni district of Tamil Nadu, the isolated hamlet among the Megamalai illustrates how the sophisticated urban society conveniently forgets the other. Being deprived of basic amenities, the villagers at Arasaradi speak of their darkened lives caused by the uncaring government officials.
When the rest of the world, lights up to embrace the darkness, Vanapechi, an octogenarian is concerned about her daughter, who works in an estate. Having heard stories of molestation by a forest official, she asked her 12-year-old grandson to go to the bus stop, to accompany his mother on the way back.
The light has gone out and the darkness began to spread everywhere with the solar panel standing as a testimony to the blatant aversion of the stringent officials. Depending merely on solar energy, the villagers haven't received power even for a couple of hours. "It is quite unsafe to go out when it gets dark. Chances of getting attacked by wild animals are very high here, and the solar lights are of no use," says S. Thevikani.
With no network coverage and electricity, the village is far behind the time. Although mixers, grinders and fan were provided as a part of freebie politics of Tamil Nadu, nothing was done to restore current. However, Muthuvelu keeps them as a matter of pride, which occupies a considerable portion of his little shack.
Though there is a lower primary school with two teachers in the village, for upper primary and higher education, the students have to go to distant schools in Theni and Andipatti which have hostel facilities.
Having married to Marimuthu, J. Selvarasi has been living in the village for the past 13 years. With a single school at walkable distance, she is worried about her 10-year-old son's further education. However, she has decided to send him to the hostel in Theni.
This is not the case with the children of workers who subsists on meagre income. Quite often, they are left with no other options but to drop out.
Fourteen-year-old Pandi Selvi has not gone to school after completing 5th standard. One could see the pain that lurks behind her smile when she says, "Ente appangalk padika vekka mudiyale. Athinale nanum padikale" (My father can't afford to keep me in school. So, I did not study further).
The villagers in Arasaradi have been living there for several decades. They were initially brought by the forest authorities, to grow trees and thereby, to improve the biodiversity. Being conferred the status of a reserve forest, with changing times, the department has changed their attitude towards the pioneers of forest conservation.
Over the years, with reduced rainfall, the village is faced with severe water shortage. "We don't even have water for drinking. See the rivers, they are all dried up," says T. Pazhachami, a labourer.
Coupled with the lack of water for essential needs, the village doesn’t have a single toilet. Although the school is having separate toilets for boys and girls, since there is no water, they depend on open air space.
According to M. Tamilan, vice-president of the Megamalai panchayat, getting the permission from forest department to implement programmes like 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' is difficult.
"As it is a reserve forest area, they are not letting us construct toilets," he says.
The forest department has turned hostile towards any proposal to improve the basic living condition of the villagers in Arasaradi. Instead, they are planning to rehabilitate the villagers to Theni despite opposition from the villagers.
But the rehabilitation of villagers does not appear to be a sensible option as majority of them depends on income from silk cotton trees and vegetables. As the proposed government resettlement plan includes only housing without any land, how the villagers will make a living is a matter of concern.
Tamilan thinks that rehabilitation is not the right solution. "I wish the government would provide basic needs like drinking water, power and sanitation facilities for the people. As a panchayat president, I am doing what I can."
As the villagers don't have patta, they cannot claim any legal help. "They don’t have the necessary documents to claim the ownership, even though they have ration card, election identity card and aadhaar card," explains K. Andavar, Panchayat Secretary.
Khaja Moideen, Divisional Forest Officer at Megamalai, candidly said: "We will evict them forcibly one day. We have given them enough time."
Moideen believes that people are staying in the village because they are earning more wealth from the forest resources. "Because electricity is free, water is free…Everything is free for them. They are using forest produce for free. Since they are getting everything free of cost, they are enjoying everything and they do not want to go out. When they are living like this, if we happen to provide amenities, what will be the case?" he wonders.
He conveniently hides the early history when he says, “They are culprits because they have encroached forest and cut down trees for their benefits. They have changed the pattern and cultivated silk cotton, which is of no use to the animals”.
Few months back, a tigress was captured in a camera installed in the forest region. The forest department assumes that 3-4 tigers might be there as the animal tends to live in groups. With the looming threat of tiger attacks, it's likely that more restrictive measures may be enforced, further restricting the freedom of villagers.
Refuting the allegations regarding molestation, Moideen claimed that no such incidents had been reported and the politicians were making up stories for ulterior motives. He also blamed local money lenders of facilitating the labourers to continue their work.
This is the tale of villagers of Arasaradi and their survival for existence.
