Many villages lack basic facilities like water, electricity

Tribals in 300 interior villages in the district find it very difficult to save their lives in medical emergencies. There is no nearest road point to reach the mandal headquarters and no culvert has been constructed since 1988 in the region despite repeated pleas through their elected representatives.

Recently, East Godavari district Collector Karthikeya Mishra along with Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) Project Officer A.S. Dinesh Kumar trekked 22 km to visit Ijjaluru hamlet of the Maredumilli mandal, which was not visited by an IAS officer in the recent past. The administration has started gathering information on how many villages and hamlets are inaccessible.

Medical emergencies

The tribals of the interior villages of Maredumilli and Y. Ramavaram mandals trek about 30 km to reach the weekly shandi (market). During medical emergencies, they have to transport the patient on a traditional wooden cot. There are many such villages in Chinturu, Devipatnam, Y. Ramavaram, Maredumilli and Vara Ramachandrapuram mandals. Their plight is worse during the rainy season as there is no facility to cross river Godavari.

“If we want to go to Kondamodalu village in Devipatnam mandal, we have to cross river Godavari by country boats which is dangerous or swim,” said Ramana Reddy, a tribal of Devipatnam. The tribal engineering department has failed to construct culverts in most places citing threat from Maoists. For example, the department is yet to complete construction of culverts sanctioned in 1988 in Gurthedu-Maredumilli main road.

“It is very difficult for the tribals to reach any mandal headquarters in rainy season as river Godavari and Sabari will be in spate,” observed Subhani, president, Asha-NGO organisation.

Villages like Yetivada, Mittavada, Chedalavada, Narayanapuram, Nelakota, Mallampeta and other villages in Chinturu mandal do not have road facility. In Koonavaram mandal, villages including Tekuladoddi, Tekuluru and Chintalagani are inaccessible. Vara Ramachandrapuram is another merged mandal from Telangana in which about 20 villages do not have connectivity.

After Chinturu was declared as Revenue Division, the officials started identifying villages which do not have road connectivity. But in the Rampachodavaram Agency area, 300 villages have neither connectivity nor safe drinking water supply, electricity and other basic amenities.