Tribals eagerly await basic amenities

Anakapalli: For decades long, tribals here eagerly await basic infrastructure as they have been deprived of potable water, roads, among others. Absence of roads at Chalisingham village in Anakapalli district not only make the tribals walk long distances to meet their emergency needs but also trek kilometres to perform last rites to a corpse.

Every time the government changes, the tribals expect their village to witness development. So far, they witness no such signs. About 400 tribals reside in Chalisingham village which falls under the purview of Chodavaram constituency in Anakapalli district.

In 2019, YSRCP leader Karanam Dharmasri assured the tribals before elections that the village would be facilitated with potable water plus BT roads. "Till now, there is no trace of change in our lives. Dead bodies were carried over a doli (makeshift stretcher) from the hospital to the village. There is no facility here to access healthcare as we have to trek kilometres to reach a hospital," share tribals S Sankara Rao and Nookaraju.

Owing to health issues, Koppula Ravindra, a resident of the village, was taken to Narsipatnam Area Hospital. However, he passed away while undergoing treatment in the hospital. His body was shifted to CK Padu in an ambulance and was kept in the village overnight. From CK Padu, the family members carried the corpse on a doli back to Chalisingham to perform last rites.

Back in 2018-19, a 7-km-long stretch of road extending from CK Padu to Chalisingham was sanctioned with an estimated cost of Rs.3 crore. However, the project did not move further as the forest officials stopped the road work due to lack of permissions. The tribals demand the officials concerned to look into their problems and resolve them at the earliest so that it would bring respite to those suffering from health issues.