Tribal hamlet in Anakapalle district walks 2 km for water

Visakhapatnam: Residents of Neredu Bandha, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) hamlet in V Madugula mandal of Anakapalli district, continue to struggle for basic amenities, with villagers forced to walk nearly 2 km daily to fetch drinking water from a nearby stream.Locals Marri Bujji and Muvvala Devi alleged that the hamlet has not been included in the revenue records, resulting in its exclusion from the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission.“As the hamlet is not part of the revenue records, we have been left out of the Jal Jeevan Mission and deprived of piped drinking water. We have been facing this problem for decades and are forced to depend on untreated stream water for drinking and other household needs,” they said.According to the villagers, consuming untreated water frequently leads to fever, stomach infections and other water-borne diseases, particularly among children and the elderly.“The lack of safe drinking water has become a recurring health concern. Adding to our difficulties, there is no motorable road connecting the hamlet. During medical emergencies, patients have to be carried in a doli (cloth stretcher) to the Jalampalli gram panchayat headquarters,” they said.

The residents said they have submitted several representations to the authorities seeking a safe drinking water facility and road connectivity. They recently submitted a petition to the district administration on July 3, but claim that no concrete action has been taken so far.“We appeal to the authorities to resolve our long-pending problems and provide us with basic infrastructure,” Bujji and Devi added.