Andhra Pradesh: Tribals of ASR village in Andhra are demanding a school

VISAKHAPATNAM: Students from Tangellabanda village faced a daunting task on Wednesday while returning home from school as they were forced to wait for two hours, along with their teacher, to cross the swollen Gangavaram stream. They were able to cross the stream only after the flow receded.

Parents of these students have raised concerns that frequent downpour often forces their children to stay home, hindering their access to education. They are now urging the district Collector and Paderu ITDA project officer to establish a school in their village.

The incident has brought to fore the struggle of 25 students, studying from classes I to V, who have no other option, but to walk two kilometres daily and cross the seasonal water stream, which swells during heavy rains, to reach the MPP School in Gangavaram.

A tribal hamlet with 27 families belonging to the Konda Dora Adivasi tribe, Tangellabanda comes under Kiverla Panchayat, Anantagiri mandal in Alluri Sitarama Raju district. 

“There are two teachers at the Gangavaram MPP School. We request the higher officials to allot one of the teachers to our village so that our children can study. We will pool money and build a shed to accommodate the children,” the parents said. They underscored the importance of education for their children’s future and appealed for immediate action from the authorities to address the issue.

Speaking to TNIE, Pottangi Satya Rao, a parent from Tangellabanda, highlighted additional issues faced by the villagers. “We have drinking water problems. Although tap water connections were provided through the Jal Jeevan Mission, the taps are not functional.

Additionally, mosquito spraying has not been conducted in our village despite the onset of monsoon,” he rued and requested the authorities to respond to the issues at the earliest.