Gundri panchayat in Kadambur hills to have mobile connectivity soon

People of Gundri panchayat in Kadambur hills have a reason to smile as the mobile phone tower installation works have been completed and it is all set to be operational in another 15 days.

Once functional, this will be the first time that the 6,000-and-odd people in 15 habitations in the panchayat coming under the Sathyamangalam Panchayat Union will have access to mobile connectivity. The panchayat is located 15 km away from Kadambur and one has to pass through the Guthiyalathur Reserve Forest in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve to reach the habitations.

In the absence of mobile connectivity, over 600 school students and 120 college students in the habitations missed their online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, during emergencies, villagers cannot contact ambulance service and have to travel two km to a place along the forest road for mobile connectivity.

A report, “These T.N. students sit on the roadside near a forest in order to attend online classes” was published in  The Hindu on August 6, 2021, after which Collector H. Krishnanunni approached private mobile operators for installing a tower.

Land levelling for installation of a mobile tower at a private land in Anilnatham habitation was carried out in January this year. But, soil testing and other work delayed installation works. The works began in the second week of June and were completed on Tuesday. Engineers said testing of frequencies would take another 10 days after which the tower would be fully operational.