Yummy pizza in the tribal hinterland

Mulugu: Don't get floored by the news that Mulugu, a predominantly tribal populated district, now has a pizza centre. Pizza that is normally available in cities made its way to Mulugu district headquarters, 190 kilometers northeast of Hyderabad. All thanks to the endeavours of the district administration that is hellbent on empowering

the women in this part of Adivasi land.

The Ganapathi Mahila Podupu Sangham, a self-help group, running under the Nava Bharat Mandala Samakya, has come up with a pizza centre, christened as 'Pizzeria N Wings' on the premises of District Collectorate.

Although the district administration which provided loan of Rs 1 lakh was behind the SHG, local man Kanthala Prabhakar Reddy of Palsapally village had his role in setting up the pizza centre.

Reddy who ran a pizza centre in Chanda Nagar, Hyderabad, since 2013 returned Mulugu after the coronavirus-enforced lockdown last year. Encouraged by District Collector S Krishna Aditya, trained the SHG members to prepare a host of pizza varieties.

Referring to the business plan to attract the town people, Reddy told The Hans India, "The prices of pizza recipes are 30 per cent less compared to the cities.

This apart, we have plans to attract the tourists who in huge numbers head to Ramappa, Laknavaram Lake, Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, Bogatha waterfalls etc from the NH-163 through Mulugu." It may also be mentioned here that devotees turning to Sammakka-Saralamma jatara at Medaram also pass through Mulugu.

Ganapathi Mahila Podupu Sangham Group leaders Anisetty Swaroopa and Devulapally Suguna said that they will ensure indicators and signboards on the NH-163 so that visitors could know that Pizza is available in the tribal hinterland. On the other hand, the same SHG has been successfully running Annapurna Canteen availing a loan of Rs 3.50 lakh from the government. On Saturday, Additional Collector Adarsh Surabhi inaugurated the Pizzeria N Wings.