Seventy year-old T. Rajendran was on his way back to Kottagam village on his cycle from Nedungadu Bazar located in the Nedungadu commune panchayat, which is 4 km from his village as lack of bus service gives him no other option.
Like Mr. Rajendran, several others from ten small villages in Nedungadu commune panchayat have to depend on themselves as a bus that connected them to the nearby Nedungadu bazar and Karaikal town stopped making trips since 2022.
Earlier, in 2008 after locals made repeated demands a bus connecting Karikal to Nedungadu bazar entered these ten villages within 5 km from Nedungadu bazar, including Ponpethi, Kiliyanur, Kottgam,…