This village, located barely 20 km from the district headquarters, was adopted by Collector M. Hanumantha Rao on September 14 this year, after he spent the previous night there as part of ‘Palle Nidra’ programme.
That was during the first phase of Palle Pragati (30-day village development programme), which commenced in September this year. The Collector sought to develop Charlagudem into a model village and the residents pledged to cooperate fully in keeping the village neat and clean.
However, just three months down the line, the village seems light years away from the ‘model’ tag. In fact, it is almost back to square one. The drains are filled with plastic bottles and bags while wild bushes have grown on the road sides.
“The clean and green programme, which was supposed to be conducted once a week, was carried out for a few weeks after the 30-day action plan got over. But later, it all fizzled out. Here, the steering of the village is not in the hands of the sarpanch,” says a villager.
An official, on the condition of anonymity, says, “Here, the youth and others are not participating in the programmes. When we ask them to get involved, they give some excuses. Same is the case with women. They say they have to get their children ready for school and then work in the fields. We are unable bring the people together for this.”
Without local leadership and public involvement, the official says, it is not possible to carry out developmental work. “It took several weeks and follow-up work to bring about development in villages like Ibrahimpur in Siddipet district and Malkapur in Medak district which have become models for the entire State. Here, it looks tough,” the official adds.
