Even after 75 years of independence, there are many villages in the agency areas of Alluri Sitarama Raju district which are not connected by road.
Even after 75 years of independence, there are many villages in the agency areas of Alluri Sitarama Raju district which are not connected by road.
On 13 October, in the newly carved Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district of Andhra Pradesh, G. Korra Radha, 23, of Gaduthuru panchayat of Madugula mandal, developed labor pains around 4 am. His village is at Vasumamidy, which is about 20 km away, and there is no road from his village to the PHC. Family members put together a temporary ‘ doli‘ and four family members made Ms. Radha sit on her and at 8 in the morning started the arduous journey of 20 km.
When they were halfway there, Radha gave birth to a child. doli And his condition started deteriorating. After a non-stop journey, they finally reached the PHC around 1 pm, where the doctor completed the procedure and saved her and the child.
Read also | Tribal people of Alluri Sitaram Raju district demand electricity supply in their villages
But S.K. of Rajakilam village of Pinnakota panchayat of Ananthagiri mandal. Ramulamma (62) was he is not lucky, An ailing Ms. Ramulamma struggled to reach the PHC at Balagaruvu, which is about 7 km from her village. doliWhere he was given first aid, but he died before reaching the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam district, as the PHC had referred him to the hospital as his case was a bit serious.
Even after 75 years of independence, an occasion which is being celebrated all over the country as ‘Nectar Festival of Independence’, there are many villages in the agency areas of ASR district, which were earlier in Visakhapatnam district, which are not associated with it. any form or road.
Sick tribal people including pregnant women are shifted to these temporary dolis And the carriers have to traverse 10-20km of arduous treks while facing inclement weather, crossing hills, passing through dense forests and sometimes through waist-deep flowing rivulets and streams.
Unable to endure the journey, there are many occasions when pregnant women have given birth along the way and the sick have died.
According to an official record, about 900 tribal settlements are yet to get any kind of road connectivity, including basic roads. raw street.
So far, the district has 64 primary health centres, 352 sub centres, four regional hospitals, five community health centres, 296 village clinics and one district hospital.
big and backward
After the division of districts in Andhra Pradesh, ASR is the second largest district with an area of about 12,251 sq km and the lowest population of about 9.54 lakhs, spread over 22 mandals.
Almost all the mandals are Maoist affected and this is one of the reasons why development has lagged behind. The Maoists strongly oppose any kind of development and did not allow the authorities to build roads connecting the villages.
Another factor affecting road connectivity is the tussle between the district administration and the forest department. Many roads sanctioned under MGNREGA could not be built as the roads cut through reserved forest areas.
card repair
talking to HinduDistrict Collector Sumit Kumar said the cards had improved, mainly because the presence of Maoists had reduced significantly and the government was now keen to pursue its development agenda.
“Now we are able to go into the interior, which was once a Maoist stronghold and take development plans to the doorsteps,” he said.
He said, “Besides recruiting 128 doctors, we are upgrading PHCs under the Nadu Nedu scheme and identifying places on priority where roads and bridges are to be constructed to improve connectivity. “