MULUGU: Mulugu Congress MLA Danasari Anasuya, popularly known as Seethakka has been helping people in 275 hamlets under Eturunagaram, Tadwai, Mulugu and Govindaraopet mandals in the district.
Seethakka who goes to the hamlets on a tractor, said after seeing the plight of tribal families, the Congress leaders came forward to donate essentials to Adivasis who had lost their livelihood due to the lockdown.
Every day, Seethakka sets off on a tractor at 9 am with rice, vegetables, soaps, masks and other essential items. The road connectivity to agency areas is poor, one has to trek hills, cross streams, walk through the forest to reach the hamlets. On an average, she covers about seven to eight villages and returns home by 10.30 pm. Seethakka won the elections twice as an MLA and always goes out of her way to help the poor. Recently, she started a challenge ‘Go Hunger Go’ for public representatives and celebrities. The aim of the challenge was to help poor people during the lockdown, said Seethakka.
Speaking to Express, Seethakka said Adivasis had lost their livelihood due to lockdown. The government must identify people in distress and provide them with required assistance. In agency areas, many people have no idea what was happening or why the lockdown was enforced. Though the State government had been providing 12 kg of rice and `1,500 to poor people, as the Adivasis don’t have ration cards, they had not been identified as beneficiaries, said Seethakka.
She said there were many hamlets and villages near the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border where people were not aware of Coronavirus. She appealed to locals to maintain social distancing and stay at home. She told them to approach the sarpanch immediately if they contract cold or fever or have any flu like symptoms.