Tribals living deep inside the Agency have taken it upon themselves to lay a motorable road to their remote village after repeated pleas to authorities fell on deaf ears.
Residents of Egamalapadu village under Kotanapalle panchayat limits in Hukumpeta mandal said they began work on laying a 4-km road to the nearest all-weather road around 10 days ago.
Around 45 families, all from the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), reside in Egamalapadu village, an interior tribal hamlet where farming is the only source of sustenance. According to the locals, officials have failed to take any action despite several representations being made over the years.
“Having a road to our village has remained a dream for us for years. We have longed for a road as it would make it easier for us to avail medical care quickly. In the absence of a road, we have to walk for miles through forests as no ambulance can reach our village,” the villagers said.
A group of 30 locals, mostly youth from Egamalapadu. are toiling throughout the day to lay the road for the last 10 days. A two-km stretch of road has been laid till now, and the entire stretch is expected to be over in another 10 days.
This is not for the first time in the Agency area that villagers have joined hands to lay road to their hamlets. Earlier, several villagers in Ananthagiri mandal laid a road to their village on their own.
CPI(M) leader and member of A.P. Girijan Sangham, Killo Surendra, said that the tribals from this village are forced to walk for 4 km through forests to reach the nearest road point, from where they can get an ambulance or any vehicle for transportation.
“A medical emergency becomes a nightmare in such circumstances. Even bringing supplies from the mandal headquarters is an uphill task. Though many governments have changed over the years, none have bothered to pay heed to their woes,” Mr. Surendra said.
“We request the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) to give NREGS wages to the tribals who have been working on the road,” he said.