Village Force in Prakasam tackles one road safety issue at a time

Youngsters noticed that Giddalur reports at least two mishaps on an avg and learnt that overgrown bushes, damaged roads and negligence were the cause
The ‘Village Force’ team members headed by N SasikumarReddy
The ‘Village Force’ team members headed by N SasikumarReddy

ONGOLE: Village Force, a group of 10 youngsters from Giddalur Assembly constituency in Prakasam district have been working towards preventing road accidents in the region. The members, aged between 16 and 35, take up cleanliness drives every Sunday along road margins and also educate students on the importance of road safety.

Giddalur, which shares its borders with Guntur and Nandyal, has been witnessing a spike in the number of accidents in the recent past. A number of people visit Giddalur from all six mandals, Giddalur, Bestavaripeta, Racherla, Komarolu, Cumbam and Ardhaveedu, for work and other reasons. As a result, vehicular traffic has increased manifold in recent times. The narrow and damaged roads have only made matters worse for commuters.

On an average, at least two mishaps are reported in the region every day, with 50% of them being fatal. Observing this, the group tried to understand the reason for so many accidents. They learnt that overgrown shrubs and bushes along the roads often obscured vehicle users’ vision, further leading to mishaps.

Following this, the group - headed by Sasikumar Reddy - took up cleanliness drives to clear the bushes. The 33-year-old, a graduate and self-employed youngster, also went on a field visit for a fortnight, exclusively to study roads linking rural areas.

Krishna Kumar (25) and Pawan Kumar (23), both carpenters, Rajesh (22), Nagarjuna (21), Reddy (20), Raheem (19), Narayana (20), KK Reddy (20) and Charan (16), all students from Giddalur, Komarolu and Racherla mandals, are the other members of the group.

After the survey, Village Force realised that besides bad condition of the roads, driver’s negligence was also a reason for the mishaps. Following this, they came up with Social Service Day every Sunday to clear the shrubs.

Between and August and October this year, the youngsters cleared overgrown bushes along 30 km of the road margins in Komarolu- Giddalur, Cumbham- Giddalur and Racherla- Cholaveedu routes.On funding and expenditure to carry out the programme, Sasikumar explained, “A few donors and philanthropists have been supporting us towards paying rent for an earth mover and food for workers. The expense comes to around `10,000 per Sunday. Police officers, local body leaders and public have been extending their full support to us. We are very thankful to them.”

taking part in road margin jungle clearance programme at Giddaluru- Komarolu road | EXPRESS
taking part in road margin jungle clearance programme at Giddaluru- Komarolu road | EXPRESS

With the help of local police, the team also conducts road safety awareness programmes for students at various government and private educational institutions in and around Giddalur town. Besides, Village Force has been conducting ‘helmet checking drives’ with the support of police to create awareness on helmets for the safety of riders.

Applauding Village Force for their work, Giddalur CI Firoze said, “Besides clearing both sides of the road margins, they are conducting road safety awareness programmes for students. This will yields good results in the future.”

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