For the 300 tribals living in seven villages of the Eastern Ghats hills range, a "road" is a dream and a lifeline for their health, education, water, and many more.
Tribal children in the Eastern Ghats hill range of Paderu, Visakhapatnam. (Bhaskar Basava/South First)
Exactly a hundred years after quelling the great rebellion of the tribals of Manyam agency, the tribals still await the fruits of development, at least a road to take them to get ration or medical help.
In the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, the tribals led by Alluri Sitarama Raju, gave sleepless nights to the British government with the guerrilla attacks during the 1920s.
The fight against colonial rule came to an end as Raju was killed by the British at the age of around 27 in 1924. A hundred years down the line the Manyam people, for whom Raju fought are in floods of tears.
The reason? It is all for a road, considered to be everything to them.
Seven villages are situated amidst the lush green hills around 30 kilometers from the memorial park of Manyam Veerudu Sitarama Raju.
These seven villages include Kumbarlubanda, Jajulabanda, Daragedda, Palamamidi, Porlubandha, Kotha Veedhi, Pitrugadda in the Koyyuru divison of Paderu constituency, of Alluri Sitarama Raju district.
All seven villages belong to the Kui or Khond tribe classified as a Scheduled Tribe and Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group. They speak the Kui language and some of them are also familiar with Telugu.
The Kui tribals are initially from Araku valley in Visakhapatnam, but relocated here in the 1980s as part of shifting cultivation and in search of livelihood.
For the 300 tribals living since then in the seven villages, a road is a dream and a lifeline for their health, education, water, and many more.
Be it a pregnant woman, an elderly person, or a five-year-old child, their daily norm is to walk miles and miles for ration, water, and medical care. Sometimes, they have to bear the scorching sun during the day while walking on patchy mountain paths, or have to go through darkness at night.
In emergencies, the only common sight is ‘Doli’ – a long stick with a rope or piece of cloth tied at both ends, with two people carrying the sick person on their shoulders.
Due to lack of transportation, at least six people allegedly died in 2023, including a woman who was nine-months pregnant.
The issue still remains unaddressed, and recently, the villagers held a protest in the form of ‘Doli Yatra’.
South First brings a ground report on those villages and villagers — as they all echo numerous problems, with the core issue being the lack of a road.
In the scorching 38 degrees Celsius, at least 20 tribal women were seen waiting for ration at the village centre of Arla.
Arla marks the termination point of a gravel road from the neighbouring town. The tribals residing in the mountains must walk a distance of at least ten kms to reach this center and then back to their villages.
Thirty-year-old villager who studied until the 12th standard, is now working as a volunteer for the government. He said the request for a road has been raised by the tribals with politicians and every district official — collector, deputy collector, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA)—but there has been no progress.
Women walking from the Arla junction to the villages.
The villagers said that due to the lack of response from the officials, they pooled money to lay roads on their own. The descent from the hill to the village of Kumbarlubanda cost around ₹7 lakh, and ₹5 lakh for the neighbouring village Jajulabanda.
They used the hard-earned money from MGNREGS works since 2018 to lay down the roads.
However, this effort only facilitated walking, as they could not lay a motorable road. The other five villages lack even this basic facility, forcing residents to walk on the rough paths of the mountains.
The women, waiting for the ration, expressed frustration over the prolonged issues with the roads.
“Only God knows our pain. Even when we suffer from illness or anything else, we have to collect our ration. Missing the ration means going hungry until the next distribution. We don’t even have water midway while we are carrying this to the villages. Some of us also carry small babies, as we can’t leave them at home alone,” said the group of tribal women.
Anu pointing her finger towards the starting point where we began the walk.
Pointing to the distance they must cover, another woman said, “The same applies when going to the market. We have to travel a bit more because auto services are not regular.”
Even six to 10-year-olds join to help their parents carry the bags. Nine-year-old Thambele Anu was seen carrying a rice bag along with her mother.
As I walked with them, a 60-year-old woman, Kilo Lachimi, expressed sadness, mentioning that no officials had visited the area, and I was the first visitor so far.
Upon reaching the hill, the villagers echoed several problems, including water and healthcare.
Except for Jajulabanda village, no other six villages have access to tap water. Some villagers have to walk miles to get water for both drinking and personal use, while others have built wells with their own money.
They also need water for their animals like sheep, cows, and buffaloes that they herd.
The water well in Kumbarlubanda cost ₹15,000 for the villagers, who had to spend the money from their own pockets.
Marri Kameshwar, a 20-year-old villager, mentioned that they only receive ₹100 rupees as daily wages and around ₹200- ₹250 for MGNREGS work per day. They are spending all this money while relying on ration and the farming they engage in for their survival.
Children and elders drawing water. (Bhaskar Basava/South First)
In villages like Pitrugadda, tribals have to walk up the hill again because the water tanks installed are not working due to maintenance issues. They have laid a pipe on their own to bring water from the small water lane.
“Despite various schemes for tribal upliftment by both the central and state governments, the villagers have not seen the benefits. MPLADS funds, tribal development funds, and many others are not visible here,” says Govind Rao CPI (M) Visakhapatnam district leader.
The tribals also lack basic toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission Scheme.
A 70-year-old Pangi Besu mentioned that it’s been ten years since he walked down but wanted to help his struggling family with ration and water.
He lost his 35-year-old son, Pangi Chinna, to health issues but couldn’t afford a check-up. Pangi Besu had requested fellow villagers to bring a private medical practitioner, paying from their own pockets. Unfortunately, his son died of severe fever within a week.
Women staging a protest of ‘Doli Yatra’ in Ananthagiri. (Supplied)
Similar tragic incidents occurred with a nine-month pregnant woman, Pangi Roja, who was pursuing her second year degree outside Paderu. Suffering from sudden pains, she was immediately taken to the hospital on a Doli, but died on the way.
Kurra Shanti, her relative, mentioned that during pregnancy, they only go to the government hospital once after identification. Later, they only go when they experience pain.
Pangi Roja’s father-in-law, Raja Rao, expressed, “With better roads or medical services, we may not have lost the woman and child.”
After losing his wife, Pangi Chanti turned to teaching to educate the local tribal children.
He receives ₹3,000 from the government-appointed school teacher Satish to continue the job on behalf of him who couldn’t make it up every day. However, Pangi Chanti is just twenty years old, and the teaching in school is not regular. This is same in all other villages.
According to volunteers in these villages, schools were sanctioned under the YSRCP government’s prestigious educational reform project Nadu-Nedu. However, no progress has been made, and teaching is taking place in small huts.
Children at the school. (Bhaskar Basava/South First)
An anganwadi worker couldn’t hold back tears as she mentioned that the children go to school every day in the morning, expecting the teacher to come, but they eventually return later and play around.
She emotionally expressed, “I have asked the teacher, sir, our children are interested in learning, please come, but he denied. Our children are growing, but still, they don’t know the alphabets. Later, we can’t join them in schools in the town for higher education.”
Another villager, Kurra Shanti further said that neither books, uniforms, nor any incentives have been received.
Children in the age group of six-eight years, who should be holding pens and books, are instead carrying sticks and going with cows, buffaloes, and sheep for rearing.
Children rearing animals pose for a picture. (Bhaskar Basava/South First)
Government teachers, as per the villagers, come once a month or bi-monthly.
Anganwadi workers also allege that they haven’t received a salary from the state government for the past seven months. With money from their own pockets, they are cooking the materials being sent.
The villagers allegedly haven’t witnessed any door-to-door campaigns by officials or politicians.
When asked if they have ever cast a vote, some replied “yes,” while others mentioned that they have to walk at least twenty kms to exercise their right to vote.
Ask anyone in the village, and you’ll hear the echoing demand for roads that has persisted for decades, yet it has been consistently ignored by political parties and officials.
All this is happening when the Manyam Veerudu’s bronze statue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a part of 75 years of independence in January 2023 in Bhimavaram, West Godavari District—an area where the Kshatriya community, to which Manyam Veerudu belonged, holds significant electoral influence.
Also, as part of his initiative for better administration, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy divided the 13 erstwhile districts into 26, and he gave a new name to this tribal area district after Alluri Sitarama Raju.
A group of women walking towards the village. (Bhaskar Basava/South First)
“The real tribute to Alluri is not in the nomenclature but in his ideology of justice for the tribal brothers,” says Govind Rao.
Further, on checking the government details on the road construction, the formation of a road from Arla village to one of the tribal villages, Jajulabanda was sanctioned as per the Government of India Ministry for Rural Development during 2023-2024, yet there is no progress on the roads.
To understand why the government finds it so challenging, we approached V. Abhishek, the Project Officer of Integrated Tribal Development Officer (ITDA), Paderu.
Speaking to South First, he said that a project was sanctioned by the central government last December, and the state government has concluded the tendering process four days ago. The road construction will commence soon.
There is also an issue since the area falls under the reserved forest. However, it could be solved since the required land is less than a hectare. The district collector is expected to approve the proposal.
“As far as the teacher’s absence is considered, we will take action accordingly. The schools and the water projects are also sanctioned, and they will be started soon,” Abhishek added.
Meanwhile, the tribals look to the Gandhian idea of reaching out to the last person in the queue. They remark that the government has made promises like this several times before but the problem persists.
May 15, 2024
May 14, 2024
May 13, 2024
May 11, 2024
May 11, 2024
May 11, 2024
