PVTG protesters of Peddagaruvu village in Arla panchayat of Rolugunta mandal in Anakapalli district stage dharna with empty pots on their heads.
Visakhapatnam: Tribal women of Peddagaruvu village in Arla panchayat of Rolugunta mandal in Anakapalli district staged a sit-in protest with pots on their heads for drinking water.
The protesting Kondu Adivasi PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group) women, led by Killo Lakshmi, Killo Narasiah and Dambu, sat on the protest to highlight the severe drinking water crisis in their village.The hilltop Peddagaruvu village is home to 15 Kondu tribal families totalling to about 60 Adivasi. Finding it difficult to trek long distances for fetching drinking water, these villagers on their own excavated a 50-feet deep well in the lower part of Peddagaruvu between the months December 2019 and January 2020. Refraining from any agricultural work during the period and spending their own money, they installed a motor to draw out the water from the well.However, they have been only getting muddy water over these years. They filter and consume the available water. But they find themselves falling ill frequently. The protesting Adivasi say at least one person from each family has to visit the hospital up to four times a month due to waterborne diseases. They are thus sitting with empty pots over their heads to bring their plight to the state government’s notice."We want the government to provide us clean water," underlined Killo Lakshmi. Killo Narasiah and Dambu pointed out that they are only protesting to seek clean water, a fundamental human right.
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