VISAKHAPATNAM: Tribals carried a dead body in a doli (makeshift stretcher) and trekked six kilometres from Sariya to Madrabu, up the hill through the rough terrains of Pedakota panchayat under Ananthagiri mandal in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district on Tuesday. The distressing incident once again shed light on the harsh conditions tribal people face in the hilly terrains due to the lack of road connectivity.
No road connectivity to hilltop villages
The body of 60-year-old Konda Tambali Silakamma, who died in KG Hospital in Vizag city due to health issues on Tuesday morning, was brought in an ambulance to Devarapalli. From there, it was transported to Sariya village in an auto-rickshaw, but it had to stop at the foothills as there are no roads to the tribal hamlet Madrabu, the native place of Silakamma.
The body was carried by the tribals in a doli from there. A group of people carried the doli at a time, and others, who accompanied them on the arduous journey, took turns, said the family members of Silakamma. It took them more than three hours to reach the top of the hill, after which her relatives performed the last rites on Tuesday evening.
Our only demand is road connectivity to hilltop tribal hamlets—Madrabu, Tulasibu, Karakavalasa, Rachakilam, Gummati, and a few other villages—which has been put forth many times before elected representatives and district administration. It is to construct a proper road to the villages so that it can provide proper access to the places. But nothing has been done in more than seven decades of Independence, the locals added.
Residents of the hilltop village in part of the ASR district have been demanding road connectivity for a long time. Though the officials claimed that Rs13 crore funds were sanctioned under Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) for the roads to the hilly areas, the works are yet to commence. We will intensify our protest for roads to those villages, said CPM leader, K Govinda Rao.
