Tribals have voter cards, but no water, electricity

​Aswaraopeta: People of a tribal hamlet have photo-identity voter cards and Aadhaar cards but no drinking water and electricity facility. Politician after politician promised the villagers drinking water and electricity, but after the elections no leader did anything to provide basic amenities to Kottagangaram, identified as tribal hamlet, just four km away from Aswaraopeta in Bhadradri-Kothagudem district.

People of the hamlet walk 2 km to fetch water from an agriculture well. The whole village will be plunged into darkness after dusk for want of electricity. The officials did not respond to the requests represented by villagers to them. The plight of the women has not moved the officials to initiate action in the constituency represented by Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao in Telangana State Legislative Assembly.

The officials state that electricity and drinking water facility could not be provided to village on account of its disadvantaged location in the forest land. Dismissing the contention, the villagers say that they live in forest lands because they are tribals. “Where should the tribals live, if not in the forests,” says a tribal seeking explanation from the officials.

“The government needs our votes, but they are not interested in our welfare,” say a villager flashing his voter-identity and Aadhaar cards.

The tribals are demanding that the government provide a school for their children. No elected people’s representative worth the salt came to our rescue moved by our hardships though the villagers have been undergoing the plight for more than a decade, they pointed out.

The advent of rainy season brings with it a plethora of problems like unhygienic conditions and problems due to snakes and other poisonous reptiles, they noted.

By: Sankuratri Satish