A pair of indigenous parents who had lost their infant had to trek around eight kilometers while carrying her corpse through two hills, from Vanija village in Mentada mandal (Vizianagaram district) to China Konela hamlet in Ananthagiri mandal (Alluri Sitharama Raju District), Andhra Pradesh.
Sara Kothaiah and Sita, from the Konda Dora tribe, work at a brick unit at Kolluru in Guntur district and wanted to take the body of their son, Sara Eswara Rao, for last rites at his native village of China Konela. The child was one-and-half year old and asthmatic and was admitted to hospital in Guntur when things turned out worse. He died during treatment there.
Although an ambulance had been arranged for the body, the driver left them at Vanija village 450 km away from Guntur since there is no direct road ahead.
Demolished for residents, fabricated for sightseers
The place lacks asphalt road that connects Vanija with Buruga and China Konela causing many people here suffer multiple problems each day. In 2022 authorities decided on a momentum track of 15 Km (from Sunkarametta side) with cement concrete but still some parts are not completed as they are filled up with gravel only having some portions already developing cracks on both sides.
Avoiding night rides due to accidents even by those familiar with its roads. As sources claim; projects have stalled midway due to road laying funds being embezzled by contractors working hand-in-glove with officials.
Seventy six years after independence little has changed for tribals living in ASR district. Those living in interior villages as well as hill top hamlets are worse off; there is no electricity let alone meager medical facilities and hardly any safe drinking water.
Wild animal attacks make villagers stay indoors between dusk and dawn. Moreover, in case of emergencies they use divitilu (fire torch) as a light to see the road also drive away wild animals like bears and porcupines.
However, some areas in this region have been developed among green hills and valleys hence attracting tourists to Araku famous for its coffee plantation; and Lambasingi with excellent landscapes.
People living on hilly terrain for generations have to bear freezing temperature during winter season, which makes them victims of seasonal diseases including cholera, typhoid fever, and diarrhea due mainly to poor sanitation coupled with lack of safe drinking water.
Water has to be fetched from far off streams by many people who walk long distances, such as picking up their monthly ration or even carrying pregnant women or sick people on stretchers through bushes as well as rocky terrains since there are no motorable roads leading to their hamlets. Some children even risk their lives walking across hills and through rivers trying to reach schools.
Challenges remain same
“There is electricity till Boddavalasa that is about 10km away from Buruga hamlet. Once in five years just before the elections politicians come here asking for our votes,” says Appalaraju aged 36 from Buruga However he added that “Two teachers one from Bheemunipatnam, other one Vizianagaram district and a Bhasha (language) volunteer from Rompelli village comes every year into our hamlet teach our children.”
He said that the road construction and development through Buruga to Vanija in Vizianagaram district will reduce a third of distances travelled by people.
Appalraju added, “We had approached ST Commission Chairman, Collector, MRO [Mandal Revenue Officer] in this regard but no action has been taken yet.”
While cultivating the land for generations, Appalaraju said “In 2011 some influential people who connived with government officials deceived us and got our land transferred to their names.” The tribals lodged a complaint with Paderu Sub Collector in 2020 but there has been no action on it till now.
The RWS department hired contractor sunk the borewell about nine months ago but there is no tap making it useless. He said, “A well that was dug up several years ago goes dry in peak summer”.
“They have been living here as long as they can remember.” This is what Somula Veerayya, 60, claims.
“Those days there were no roads at all leading to Sunkarametta in ASR district or towards Vizianagaram district from our village (Buruga). We used to trek two hills to reach Vanija village of Mentada mandal; if we did not carry fire torches at night leopards and bears could attack us.” Nothing has changed.According to AP Eastern Power Distribution Company (AP EPDCL), mandal-wise data of services (as on April 3) released to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) shows that out of the 5,457 households which do not have electric power supply; 4,158 were given access while there are still 1,299 remaining to be connected in four mandals of Chintapalli Sub-Division.
There are still outstanding figures like these: Araku sub-division has delayed issuing the last batch of 258 power connections in the three mandals; and Paderu Sub-Division has 514 services yet to be released.So, the total of unreleased services for Paderu Division is 2,071 as per April 3.
Burugu which lies within Alluri Sitharama Raju district interior is about 23 km from Kasipatnam village. The community has a population of 150 in about thirty households but no electricity. Cultivation of paddy, gantelu (pearl millet) and korralu (foxtail millet) are the only sources of income for these tribes. There is a school with no building till Class V where teachers take classes under the shade of trees.
If children have to continue their education after Class 5, they go all the way to Kasipatnam. As a result many have dropped out.
The hamlet has some electric poles and a supply line to provide solar power. “However, these were put up in 2015 but after some short period the solar panels and bulbs never worked again nor have they been replaced or repaired since then,” said Appalaraju who pointed out that there was no power at two other Burugus under Rompilli panchayat and seven others below NR Puram panchayat.
Some other village heads also indicate tribal girls do not marry boys from those villages which lack electricity; rather if they come from homes that receive electricity most households have Dish TV connections as well as mobile phones.
Even during holidays youth who left deprived hamlets for cities and towns do not want to come back home. They don’t want to stay in their villages anymore once tribal girls finish school according to Appalaraju.
Voting challenges
Some of the people from these hamlets are compelled to travel long distances for voting during Lok Sabha elections, and they leave their homes as early as 6 a.m. in order to reach the nearest polling station, kilometers away from their hamlets.
“The long journey under the hot sun leads to disenfranchisement of many voters,” said Govinda Rao, APGS member. On April 5, Madrebu villagers took part in a four-kilometre walk with some on horses just to put across their message that they would participate in VOTING in significant numbers if roads were built into the villages.Madrebu is a village of 45 households belonging to PVTG Kondhu tribe situated in Ananthagiri mandal of ASR district.
The village has 70 voters. While fifty of them had to travel 30km away towards Pedhakota panchayat headquarters others were sent to Velamamidi polling booth which was an 18 km distance. Similarly, there were about one hundred and seventy voters from Dayarthi village who had to go thirty kilometers so as cast their vote.
“Anantagiri MRO B. Nagajyothi and Revenue Inspector P. Sankara Rao travelled May 7th to Madrebu and other nearby hilltop villages in order to interact with villagers”, he said while emphasizing that “She refused even such possibility as creating one but promised that we will be taken by cars up-till nearest section.”
