Hilltop Villagers Plan Horseback Protest Over Denied MGNREGA Work

VISAKHAPATNAM: Fourteen families from Cheemalapadu panchayat in Ravikamatham mandal plan to stage a horseback protest at the MPDO office on May 24, demanding employment under the MGNREGA scheme. Despite holding job cards, these residents of a remote hilltop village have been denied work, even though forest land titles are available for employment.

With no MGNREGA work available within a ten-kilometer radius, some villagers are forced to ride on horseback to distant areas for jobs, only to return after exhausting journeys. While employment opportunities exist in their own lands under MGNREGA, administrative inaction has pushed many to seek work in poultry farms in the plains.

Repeated appeals to the district collector have gone unanswered. “MGNREGA work should be provided in our village. We also need better roads to connect with Jeelugulova and Sompurambandhu. Lack of access is worsening our struggles,” said Korra Mahesh, president of the PVTG Association. Tribal leaders, including Kilo Suribabu and K. Govinda Rao, support his demands.

If their demands remain ignored, the villagers are prepared to take their protest to the MPDO office streets on horseback, symbolising their growing frustration over delays in MGNREGA implementation. The movement underscores the urgent need for government intervention in rural employment and infrastructure.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Fourteen families from Cheemalapadu panchayat in Ravikamatham mandal plan to stage a horseback protest at the MPDO office on May 24, demanding employment under the MGNREGA scheme. Despite holding job cards, these residents of a remote hilltop village have been denied work, even though forest land titles are available for employment.

With no MGNREGA work available within a ten-kilometer radius, some villagers are forced to ride on horseback to distant areas for jobs, only to return after exhausting journeys. While employment opportunities exist in their own lands under MGNREGA, administrative inaction has pushed many to seek work in poultry farms in the plains.

Repeated appeals to the district collector have gone unanswered. “MGNREGA work should be provided in our village. We also need better roads to connect with Jeelugulova and Sompurambandhu. Lack of access is worsening our struggles,” said Korra Mahesh, president of the PVTG Association. Tribal leaders, including Kilo Suribabu and K. Govinda Rao, support his demands.

If their demands remain ignored, the villagers are prepared to take their protest to the MPDO office streets on horseback, symbolising their growing frustration over delays in MGNREGA implementation. The movement underscores the urgent need for government intervention in rural employment and infrastructure.