community

Gudalur & Pandalur are two Taluks in the Nilgiri District which are situated in the Kerala and Karnataka borders. Hill tribes such as the Paniya, Kurumbas, Kattunayakas and Mullukurumbas live in these two Taluks.

Apart from the tribes, Malayalees from Kerala, Kannadaikas from Karnataka and Tamilans from the Tamil Nadu plains live here. The Sri Lankan Tamils repatriated under the Indo/Sri Lanka agreements also live here in large numbers, mostly in government-owned tea plantations, working in small and large plantations.

The main occupation of the villagers is tea and coffee cultivation, and the livelihoods of the villagers are very much dependent on the volatile prices of these commodities. Falling commodity prices affect the economic lives of the villagers greatly. A study undertaken by CTRD revealed the following social problems associated with a fall in the prices of tea and coffee.

• Unsteady income
• Irregular work
• Malnutrition due to poor income
• Large scale school drop outs
• Inability of many poor parents to send their children to school.
• Inadequate health care
• Poor health check up
• Poor medical facilities in the rural and semi-urban areas
• Distress sale of land and cattle to raise money to attend to medical needs
• Non- availability of accessible, proper medical care
• Wide spread eye problems
• Lack of adequate hospitals and clinics to attend to eye problems



The Nilgiri Tribal Community Gudalur & Pandalur are two Taluks in the Nilgiri District which are situated in the Kerala and Karnataka borders. Hill tribes such as the Paniya, Kurumbas, Kattunayakas and Mullukurumbas live in these two Taluks. Apart from the tribes, Malayalees from Kerala, Kannadaikas from Karnataka and Tamilans from the Tamil Nadu plains live here. The Sri Lankan Tamils repatriated under the Indo/Sri Lanka agreements also live here in large numbers, mostly in government-owned tea plantations, working in small and large plantations. The main occupation of the villagers is tea and coffee cultivation, and the livelihoods of the villagers are very much dependent on the volatile prices of these commodities. Falling commodity prices affect the economic lives of the villagers greatly. A study undertaken by CTRD revealed the following social problems associated with a fall in the prices of tea and coffee. • Unsteady income • Irregular work • Malnutrition due to poor income • Large scale school drop outs • Inability of many poor parents to send their children to school. • Inadequate health care • Poor health check up • Poor medical facilities in the rural and semi-urban areas • Distress sale of land and cattle to raise money to attend to medical needs • Non- availability of accessible, proper medical care • Wide spread eye problems • Lack of adequate hospitals and clinics to attend to eye problems