The Hindu : A window to civilisation for the Gonds of Gangapur

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 19, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

A window to civilisation for the Gonds of Gangapur

By K. Srinivas Reddy

Children and elders wear an amused look as they take a free ride on the first-ever public transport service to their village, Gangapur, in Adilabad district on Sunday. The villagers trekked 16 km. to get to the nearest road point from where the MP , S. Venugopalachari, flagged off the bus on the newly-built road.

GANGAPUR (ADILABAD DT.), JAN. 18. The Gonds danced with gay abandon. As the Gusadi dancers, wearing the traditional peacock feather headgear, swayed to the rhythmic drumbeat, the thousand-odd villagers could not help but join them. After all, they had a reason to rejoice.

The village, situated amid lush green forests, has seen the first public transport service arrive after a 16-km road stretch was laid connecting it to civilization outside. Hitherto, residents of Gangapur and its surrounding hamlets were forced to take a circuitous route of more than 40 km to reach the nearby town either to sell their agricultural produce or to seek medical help.

The brand new road stretch, traversing through hillocks and dense forests, is rather a unique gift for the bravery of the villagers who revolted against the naxalites twice even when the People's War (PW) cadres opened fire at them. The dual acts of courage won appreciation from none other than the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu.

For the police, it was indeed an opportunity to initiate their WHAM - Winning Hearts and Minds - exercise, in their fight against the naxalites. Immediately after the villagers surrendered a weapon snatched from the naxalites to the police, the district Superintendent of Police, Mahesh M. Bhagwat, walked all the way to the village for an interaction. "We realized that there is no development of the village because there was no road. We decided to lay the road on our own,'' a satisfied Mr. Bhagwat recalls.

For over three weeks, the Kadam police led by Circle Inspector Ch. Raghunandan Rao worked non-stop doing Shramdan along with the villagers. On Sunday, when the first RTC bus carrying police officers, district Collector Vikas Raj, the local MP, S. Venugopala Chary, MLA Ramesh Rathod, took the dusty road, there were more than 100 enthusiastic villagers who trekked the entire way through the jungle, just to get into the vehicle at the road point, some 4 km away from Kadam town. The busload of passengers was given a traditional welcome with the Gusadi dancers with the drummers leading the procession. The festive mood was infectious and everyone joined the Gusadi dancers.

"Earlier, we had to walk upto Kadam river, cross it in a ferry to reach Somvarpet and then walk another 25 km to reach Khanapur,'' the village sarpanch Tekam Raju narrates the woes. If they were to shift any sick person, there was no way but to carry him on a cot. "At least ten people have died while being shifted to nearby hospitals because we had to take the long route.''

Raju, who finished his graduation, sees the road as an engine of growth. "We can now start cultivation of vegetables, rear cattle and sell milk and vegetables in Kadam town. We only require some financial help to make a beginning,'' he says.

The district Collector, Mr. Vikas Raj, seems to share this enthusiasm. "Officials were unable to reach the village because there was no road. As a result, we could not take up any programmes. Now that it's connected, we will try to develop the village.'' Developmental schemes under Velugu project will also be shortly taken up in addition to the ITDA programmes.

But would the villagers continue to oppose the naxalites? The way the villagers responded to the query posed by one of the speakers at the Sunday meeting left no doubt in anyone's mind. "We shall not let them enter Gangapur,'' one of the tribals asserted.

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