VISAKHAPATNAM: As many as 60 Chenchu Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group families, who were not given pucca houses, have been forced to live in makeshift sheds at Alluri Sitaramaraju Nagar in Thatichetlapalem.
Their thatched houses were taken down in 2018 after they were promised pucca houses. However, nothing more than the foundation for those houses was laid due to various factors such as the change in government, reverse tendering, and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We migrated to Visakhapatnam six decades ago and lived in thatched houses at ASR Nagar for 30 years till we were evacuated two years ago. There were about 400 such families, and some left for places such as Srikakulam,” said Nallabothu Satheesh, a Chenchu.
He added that the construction of houses began after the foundation stone was laid by the then MLA P Vishnukmar Raju. In 2019, they were told that the work had come to a halt due to reverse tendering, and then it got delayed further due to the lockdown.
Unable to even find menial jobs due to the coronavirus crisis, their suffering has now been increased as rainwater enters their makeshift sheds, Satheesh explained, adding that they are at a risk of contracting viral diseases.
EAS shoots off letter to CM
Former Union energy secretary EAS Sarma has sought Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s intervention to rehabilitate the 60 Chenchu PVTG families.
In a letter written to the CM on Friday, he said that in the absence of a proper shelter, these families are leading a pathetic life. He pointed out that they were promised houses in 2018, but the promise was not honoured.