Visakhapatnam: Even after 75 yrs, Kondu tribe gropes in darkness

Visakhapatnam: Even after 75 years of the nation's independence, the Kondu tribe and other tribal communities residing in three hamlets are leading a dark life in the thick of the woods as they are deprived of electricity connection, voting rights, road facilities and anganwadi centre, among other amenities.

Adivasis of Pasuvulabanda, Jeelugulova and Sompurambanda pour out their woes that basic amenities continue to elude them for quite a long time and their repeated pleas fall on deaf ears.

Staging a half-nude protest at Pasuvalabanda by kneeling down, they stressed that it's high time that officials concerned pay heed to their demands, including setting up of an ITDA in Narsipatnam.

Sompurambanda falls under Cheemalapadu panchayat in Chodavaram constituency of V Maduguala in Anakapalli district. Fifty persons belonging to the Kondu tribe live in this locality. However, 75 years after independence, the three villages are groping in the dark as they still have no electricity connection.

Sharing their woes, the tribals say, "We don't get date of birth certificates for our wards. No additions to ration cards, no anganwadi centres and our children lead a life as shepherds and cowherds in the forest without any education."

Even if the kids want to study, they have to trek a minimum of 10 kilometres. The tribal welfare officials don't come to their rescue either, the tribal leaders say. Most tribal officials are inaccessible to the Adivasis as the hamlets fall under non-scheduled villages, the tribals express worry. "Our lands are not present in government records, revenue officials show the records as land under cultivation," the tribals mention.

They rue that the mining companies are getting road facilities to mine their forest but there are no roads to their villages despite several complaints lodged even to the National Human Rights Commission. "After we lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, Narsipatnam RDO assured us to resolve our problems. However, no progress is made towards this direction," the Adivasis lament. Many of the tribals here do not even have safe drinking water facilities. Girijan Sangham Fifth Schedule Sadhana Committee representatives appealed to Deputy Chief Minister Budi Mutyala Naidu, in whose constituency these villages fall, that justice be meted out to them at the earliest.