No Road Makes Tribal People Of Dayarthi Journey 40 Km For Ration

VISAKHAPATNAM: Tribal people of Dayarthi village within the hilly areas of Jeenapadu panchayat in Alluri Seetharama Raju district continue to make an arduous journey just to collect their rations.

Belonging to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of Kondu Adivasi, their monthly struggle includes an eight-kilometre walk, followed by a 12-kilometre auto ride before collecting the rations, incurring an expenditure of ₹400 for the two-way trip.

There are 110 Kondu tribal ration cardholders in Dayarthi, which translates to a collective monthly expenditure of approximately ₹44,000, an unsustainable burden on a community reliant on subsidised food.

Ironically, a Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) depot exists within Dayarthi village. But ration distribution is only at the Jeenapadu panchayat centre. Residents, including Sedara Somanna, Sedari Anandarao and Vanthala Satya Rao, rue their current struggle. They cite that at least over a year ago, Mobile Distribution Unit (MDU) vans delivered rations to the nearby Ballagaru village.

Somanna, Anandarao and Satya Rao say Bolero vans can even reach Dayarthi. They, along with other villagers, say rations could be delivered to the GCC depot, so that they would not have to walk long distances and take up the expensive travel by private autos. They charge that GCC officials are unwilling to take up this responsibility, forcing them to continue their monthly ordeal.

Significantly, the NDA coalition government has allocated substantial funds for tribal infrastructure under the PM-JANMAN scheme, including ₹246.16 crore for 71 roads (totalling 265.16 kilometres) and an additional ₹16.78 crore for maintenance. The 13-kilometre B.T. road from Ballagaru to Dayarthi, passing through Madrevu and Tunisibu villages, has not been built, though Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan laid the foundation stone for the same under the Adavi Thalli Bata on December 21, 2024 and ₹12.60 crore had been sanctioned for the same.

CPM leader K. Govinda Rao says neither the forest permission has been received nor funds have been released for the road. Dayarthi villagers thus continue to suffer, though their pleas for timely roadwork and local ration delivery are growing louder.