PARVATHIPURAM MANYAM: Following years of government apathy, tribesmen of Bandiguda and Bori villages at Kurupam mandal in the district took up the responsibility to build a bamboo bridge over Votti Gedda stream and completed the works in a week. The 50-metre long bridge, constructed as part of shramdaan, was inaugurated on Thursday with children crossing it to reach school.
Though temporary, the bridge has brought relief to at least 150 families of Bandiguda, Bori, Balleru, Balleruguda and Kidikesu villages as it will help them reach the mandal headquarters in Gotivada for medical and education needs. Heavy rainfall over the past two months had only worsened matters for these villagers as there was no way they could reach the mandal headquarters.
Tribal people of Bandiguda and Bori were forced to take the risky path and cross the stream. Children, too, had no other option but to miss school.Governments changed, but the woes of the villagers remained. The previous TDP government had sanctioned Rs 70 lakh for the construction of the bridge after the then Kurupam MLA Pamula Pushpa Sreevani showed pictures of herself in Votti Gedda stream during a protest at the Assembly.
Although officials of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) inspected the spot, works were never taken up. After the YSRC government took charge and Pushpa Sreevani served as the deputy chief minister and tribal welfare minister until April, 2002, works for the construction of the bridge never began. Arika Ranga Rao, a resident of Bori village, and other people began building the bridge with bamboo collected from the village and completed works within a week.
However, the bridge is only a temporary solution as it does not have proper support. Appealing to the government to build a permanent bridge as soon as possible, Biddika Prameela, a villager said, “We have been waiting for a bridge for the past three decades. Children have been irregular to school as Votti Gedda has been in spate for the past two months. So, we decided to take matters into our own hands to tackle road connectivity problems. However, the solution is not permanent as we cross the bridge with the help of ropes.”
Kurupam MLA served as deputy CM, yet works for bridge remain overdue
After the YSRC government took charge and Pushpa Sreevani served as the deputy chief minister and tribal welfare minister until April, 2002, works for the construction of the bridge never began. Arika Ranga Rao, a resident of Bori village, and other people began building the bridge with bamboo collected from the village. They completed the works within a week. However, the bridge is only a temporary solution as people have to cross it with the help of a rope