Tribal women holding protests with empty water pots

Visakhapatnam: Tribal women are welcoming political leaders with empty water pots when they approach them for votes in the run-up to the assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Crossing rough terrains like hills and streams, party leaders have reached the hilltop village of Pinnakota panchayat, in Ananthagiri mandal of Alluri Sitarama Raju district’s Rachakeelam hamlet recently, to seek votes. The women, who trek miles to fetch water, welcomed them with empty water pots as a mark of protest.

The tribal women of this hilltop village have been pleading for drinking water and electricity facilities in their areas and homes for years.

“Our village has a motor, four pipe bundles, and plastic water tanks, but there is no water. We heard that an amount of Rs 15 lakhs was released for our village. But, we are not getting water," Narasamma, who led the protest, said.

A set of 230 tribal families reside at the hilltop village of Rachakeelam without any basic facilities. This hamlet is nearly 20km away from Devarapalli mandal in Anakapalli district.

Executive Engineer Leela Krishna said the government released Rs 11 lakh for Rachakeelam in 2022 under the Jala Jeevan Mission. Tenders were called and one motor, four bundles of water pipes and plastic water tanks were brought in by a contractor and villagers carried them to the hilltop. But the work was not yet executed.

“We carried all the material on our heads and we worshipped these materials too. But there is no water and electricity. Worse, the sanctioned funds have lapsed,” Sukuru Varahalamma said.

“We often get diseases due to contaminated water. Due to the lack of roads, we are taking patients in ‘Doli’ to the hospital, which is 18km away. Patients sit in ‘Doli’ for two days by way of travel to reach this PHC,” villager Sukuru Devadamma said.

When Deccan Chronicle contacted M Janakiram, the rural water supply officer here, he said, “There is a gravity problem for Rachakeelam. We planned to supply water from an open well which is 600 metres away from the village. For this, we need power, which is not available right now. We are talking to the electricity department. We will soon be able to provide water to this village.”

“Although the government has sanctioned funds for Rachakulam, there was a miscommunication between the water supply and electricity departments. Due to this, water could not be provided to the tribals. A sum of Rs 60,578 was paid for the power supply on Nov 1, 2023, but the supply is yet to begin,” the officer said.