No Forest Clearance Halts Road That Minister Lokesh Okayed
Lokesh’s order for the road came in the wake of a report in Deccan Chronicle about the risky boat ride that school-going children of the village have been taking for going to or returning from their school.
VISAKHAPATNAM: Despite education minister Nara Lokesh ordering construction of a road to ensure a quicker and safer access to school for children of Solubogu village in Pinna Kota panchayat of Anantagiri mandal in ASR district, lack of forest clearance has halted the road work.
Lokesh’s order for the road came in the wake of a report in Deccan Chronicle about the risky boat ride that school-going children of the village have been taking for going to or returning from their school. Lokesh asked the ASR district collector and chairman of the Scheduled Tribes Commission to make sure the road is built.
The collector confirmed that officials from the engineering and district education departments visited Solubogu and approved a budget of ₹3.6 crore for a six-kilometre road connecting Solubogu to Kotha Buraga village in Devarapalli mandal under MGNREGA. Although the construction began, it halted in July due to the lack of permission from forest authorities.
Solubogu and Kotha Buraga villages are home to around 50 families, with a total population of 180. Many residents travel to the mandal centre or Visakhapatnam via Devarapalli mandal in Anakapalli district. With the road work stopped, they are continuing to take the risky boat journey.
Though the government department concerned began road work within two weeks of the DC report, lack of clearance from forest department halted the work. The hardships of villagers have thus continued.
Villagers are now making efforts to urgently meet the district-level Forest Committee to get the necessary approvals.
For drawing attention to the issue, villagers Gemmela Demudu, Sukuru Ramaswamy, Kakara Gangaraju, Chinta Bheemaraju and Tamarla Kannayya staged a protest by sitting in the water, urging the district collector and project officer to act immediately.
CPM leader K. Govinda Rao said it is unfair that forest officials are not acting promptly on the road project meant for tribal communities. He warned that if forest clearance is not granted soon, they will organise a doli yatra to the district collector’s office.