Manyam's Tribal Pregnant Women Protest Seeking Free Bus Services

Previously, a bus service operated from the Parvathipuram bus depot, connecting remote villages such as Kuneru, Masimanda, Endabadra and Lanji. However, this service had been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the bus service has not been reinstated.

As a result, pregnant women are compelled to travel 40 kilometres in auto-rickshaws, which causes physical and financial burden on them.

While the NDA coalition government has implemented free bus travel for all women throughout the state, Parvathipuram RTC depot officials have not thought of restoring the bus service, which would help women of Komarada mandal travel for free, not just for medical services but for also picking up free provisions extended by the state government.

In an attempt to overcome their difficulties, pregnant women staged a protest at the Ramabhadrapuram PHC demanding immediate restoration of the bus service. CPM party expressed its support to the tribal women, with its leader Kolli Sambamurthy condemning the negligence of RTC officials.

He underlined that women from tribal panchayats, such as Masimanda, Kunthesu, Pudes and Solapadam are disproportionately affected due to the lack of free bus service, often incurring high personal expenses for transportation that they cannot afford.

The protesting women said they are planning to escalate the issue to the Parvathipuram Manyam district collector, seeking restoration of the bus route through Kuneru, Masimanda, Endabadra, and Lanji villages.