Student dies of snakebite near Ambur 

He belonged to the Irula community; residents of the tribal hamlet blame lack of road for boy’s death

A Class VII student belonging to the Irula community in Abikiripattarai tribal hamlet near Ambur in Tirupattur, sucummbed to a snakebite on Monday night at the Government Medical College Hospital in Adukamparrai on the outskirts of Vellore town.

Police said S. Arjun, 12, a student of the Government Middle School in the neighbouring Arangaldargam village, was returning home on Sunday night, when a snake bit him. Despite the lack of street lights and proper roads, a group of men from the community carried the boy on a makeshift stretcher, three kilometres down a hill through on a rough terrain to reach Arangaldargam, the nearest village that has a Primary Health Centre (PHC). The boy was treated at the centre before being shifted to the Government Taluk Hospital in Ambur, around 15 km from the hamlet. On Monday, the boy was shifted to the government hospital in Vellore, where he died on the same night. A case has been filed by Ambur taluk police.

Tribals blamed the lack of road on the hillock to reach the nearest Arangaladaram village for the boy’s death. The hamlet has more than 30 families. They work as agricultural labourers and honey collectors. At present, the hamlet has an overhead tank, a borewell and land pattas.

On Tuesday, along with a team of revenue officials, Tirupattur Collector Amar Kushwaha walked to the hamlet and met the deceased boy’s father, Siva. He assured him of better basic facilities for the Irula families in the hamlet.

“We have decided to acquire a portion of the land for a distance of around one kilometre to lay a bitumen road, connecting the hamlet with the existing main road. Necessary paperworks will be done immediately,” said S. Mahalakshmi, Tahsildar, Ambur.