The villagers of Chalisingam village of Cheemalapadu panchayat mandal in Raavikamatam mandal in the district were in for a pleasant surprise on Wednesday when Narsipatnam Sub-Collector N. Mourya walked for over 3 km on the kutcha road along the hills to reach their village.
The tribals went in a rally to the Sub-Collector’s Office recently to draw her attention to their woes in the absence of a proper road to their village. The tribals told her that pregnant women were being carried in makeshift palanquins to the hospitals, and they were sometimes dying due to delay in reaching the hospital.
Ms. Mourya called on the family members of those who died recently and expressed her sympathies. She promised to take the issue of lack of road connectivity to the notice of the government and said that problems like issue of pattas on land and midday meal scheme could be sorted out locally. When the villagers told her that a water scheme constructed at a cost of ₹31 lakh in 2018-19 was not serving the desired purpose due to the lack of a 3-phase meter to pump the water up the hills, she told them that she would take the issue to the notice of the EPDCL officials.
CPI(M) district committee member K. Govinda Rao said that the road to the village, taken up during 2018-19 at an estimated cost of ₹1.95 core, was stopped after the Forest Department raised objections. The grant was also stopped and the kutcha road remained incomplete.