Continuous rains over last couple of days resulted in the path that passes off as a road connecting this remote gram panchayat in Munchingputtu mandal in Agency area to the rest of the world turning into slush. Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma was the first IPS officer and SP to visit the panchayat that hosts a shandy that draws thousands of tribals from 10 neighbouring panchayats.
A team of district police personnel and officers, led by the SP and OSD Attada Babujee, travelled on two wheelers carrying material to be shared with tribals.
“So far the government has not reached this village, which is 40 km from Munchingputtu mandal headquarters, and we undertook the visit for a field level study of the issues being faced by the tribal people of the village,” the SP told The Hindu.
The police team shared a lunch with over 2,000 tribals from 70 habitations who descended on the village for the shandy. The SP served some of them and later ate lunch and interacted with the tribals.
Top priority
Top priority is to lay a 13 km stretch of proper road connecting the panchayat to Rodakota, the SP said. Administrative sanction has been given but no work has been taken up on it, he added. A proper road will enable a regular bus service apart from providing tribals access to medicare and other benefits of the Government.
Addressing the tribals the SP asked them not to get swayed by anti-social elements who were preventing development activities and government benefits from reaching them. He sought their cooperation in laying of the road which would help their children go to better schools rather than be limited to the Government Primary School in the village.
The school here has 125 students and is run with two teachers, headmaster Gudi Bhaskara Rao told The Hindu .
The road can be laid in six months provided the villagers extend their support, OSD Attada Babujee said. The SP gave away volleyball kits, umbrellas and blankets to the tribals.
Paderu DSP M Mahindra, Paderu CI N Saikumar, Rodakota SI SV Swami Naidu and SIs Arun Kumar and Raghuram were present.