Ponnampet taluk still awaits administrative machinery

MADIKERI: Although more than two years have lapsed since the state government divided Virajpet taluk, and designated Ponnampet a separate taluk, no efforts have been made to allocate the administrative resources that a newly-created taluk desperately needs.
Although the state government has developed all the necessary infrastructure, the delay in appointing personnel and officials means that residents have not been saved the trouble of making the long journey to Virajpet to get their problems solved.
The government has constructed a well-equipped building to house the taluk administration, but no efforts have been made to depute personnel to discharge the responsibilities. The division of Virajpet, accompanied by the formation of Ponnampet taluk, was the culmination of a years'-long struggle.
Those who had fought for the division of Virajpet taluk had cited the problems faced by the people in South Kodagu, particularly the farmers and the elderly, in commuting to the previous taluk headquarters. However, the people of Ponnampet continue to make the long commute to Virajpet for a task as routine as getting a map from the survey department.
Since it came into being, the Ponnampet taluk administration has been helmed by tahsildars operating from Virajpet. AA Kusuma, Kavyarani, and Yoganand were named in-charge tahsildars, and worked out of Virajpet, while administration of Ponnampet was assigned as an additional responsibility to each. Prashanth, who is currently the tahsildar of Ponnampet taluk, is the first to have been appointed to the post in a full-fledged capacity.
Ponnampet taluk's administrative structure is divided in four hoblis, further divided under 21 gram panchayats, which collectively administer 49 villages. The state government allocated Rs 25 lakh to furnish the old government building, which was subsequently designated as the taluk office for Ponnampet. Despite housing spacious rooms, this office remains unused, since all the department offices continue to be housed in the Virajpet taluk office.
President of the Ponnampet Civic Forum, CS Vasu Uthappa highlighted the troubles faced by residents of Pookala, Birunani, Nittur, Karmadu, Kutta, and other villages in commuting all the way to Virajpet, adding that the saving people the trouble of this ordeal had been one of the primary factors in pushing for the division of the taluk.
"Posts sanctioned for the new taluk must be filled at the earliest, and all files pertaining to Ponnampet must be shifted to the new taluk office. The government must also take steps to ensure that surveyors are appointed to the Ponnampet taluk office," Uthappa said.
Government officials said that they could not start shifting the files unless the sanctioned posts for the new taluk were filled.