VISAKHAPATNAM: Even as country is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav to mark its 75 years of Independence, many interior tribal hamlets in Visakhapatnam Agency still remain cut off from the outside world. Children of Bandapalem hamlet in GK Veedhi mandal are forced to trek 2 km to school at Panasapalli after crossing a stream everyday, risking their lives. They have to do a balancing act on a tree trunk laid across the stream. There is always a threat of flash floods in streams in the Agency area.
Shanta of Panasapalli complained that there is no building for the school and it is run in a thatched house constructed by the villagers. “There is not even a blackboard leave alone other basic amenities,” she pointed out, while underlining the need to develop road network in the Agency to enable tribals join the mainstream.
Village sarpanch Subhadra admitted to the lack of proper school building and other basic amenities for tribal children. But children are keen to attend school.“Even if there is a moderate rain, a holiday is declared for the school. Generally, the school remains closed during the entire rainy season,” said Murali, the brother of sarpanch, urging the State government to focus on developing basic infrastructure in Agency areas.
Balakrishna of Panasapalli stressed the need to develop the existing road into a BT road for all-weather connectivity to the outside world. “We have already taken the matter to the notice of the district administration,” he added.
Bandapalem is not an isolated case in the Agency area. There are nearly 150 tribal hamlets in interior pockets, which do not have proper road connectivity. Children of the tribal hamlets have to trek from 2 to 7 km in rough terrain to reach school everyday, said Girijana Sangham general secretary Appalanarasa, highlighting lack of basic infrastructure.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, he said, “About 900 hamlets in the Agency, do not have proper roads and other basic amenities. Over 370 schools do not have pucca buildings. The poor infrastructure has an adverse impact on primary education in Visakhapatnam Agency. The rate of literacy is low. There is a huge gap between male and female literacy rate. The school dropout rate is also quite high. There are no teachers for 120 schools in 11 Agency mandals.”
The Nadu Nedu programme initiated by the State government to develop schools is yet to be implemented in mandal headquarters and panchayats in the Agency. According to an estimate, `50 crore is needed to construct nearly 400 schools. Instead of developing school infrastructure, the government is closing some of the institutions due to poor attendance, he pointed out.
Tribal leader K Govinda Rao said people of many hamlets are still dependent on horses for their transport needs. There are about 150 horses in the tribal hamlets. Though roads were sanctioned for 400 hamlets in 2018, the works are yet to begin. Roads were constructed in some hamlets of Munchingput mandal without culverts. As a result, the roads are getting flooded during the rainy season, he explained.