You might have heard about a village not having water, transportation or some other facility, but, for Pedda Kottada gram panchayat located on the border of Krishna and West Godavari districts, there is no hospital, drinking water, transportation facility or a school.
People of Pedda Kottada, situated 20 km from Kaikaluru town, have been asking people's representatives and officials to provide bus service, water, medical and education facilities in the ongoing ‘Prajapatham'.
Interestingly, Pedda Kottada is the native village of Kaikaluru MLA Jayamangala Venkata Ramana. About 5,000 people inhabit Penchikalamarru, Alapadu, Kotha Lanka, Chinna Kottada, Jangampadu and Vadlakadi Tippa villages, which come under Pedda Kottada panchayat.
There is no high school for Pedda Kottada and children have to cross Upputeru, which flows from Kolleru lake, and attend school in West Godavari district. More than 100 high school students from the neighbouring villages cross the canal on boat and go to Siddapuram Government High School everyday.
Some students have stopped education after primary school, a villager G. Adilakshmi told The Hindu .
The village has no medical facilities and the patients have to be shifted to Akiveedu or Bhimavaram by crossing Upputeru. On several occasions, the boat capsized in the canal, but luckily no one got drowned, she added.
“We are tensed up to provide medical aid for pregnant women and treat the patients in emergency during night hours. During summer, Upputeru gets covered with water hyacinth (gurrapu dekka) and it is not possible to cross the canal”, said a woman Gurrala Naga Lakshmi.
For many border villages there is no bus facility. Villagers depend on autos to go to towns or cross Upputeru by boat. They requested the Government to run RTC services to the border villages and construct a bridge across Upputeru.
“The officials should visit our village during ‘Prajapatham' and solve drinking water problem, lay roads and provide other facilities,” Naga Lakshmi says.
