CHANDAMPET (NALGONDA): Come summer and almost all tribal hamlets in the drought-hit Chandampet mandal wear a deserted look. Those who can toil, migrate to distant places leaving their elderly parents, ailing family members and children at home.

However, this time everybody happily stayed back, thanks to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The scheme is really the proverbial blessing in disguise for poverty-stricken Lambadas.

"I used to break my back under the scorching sun in Hyderabad every summer. Now, I am waiting for the works to be grounded under the scheme," Islawath Sardar of Polyanaik thanda says. "Instead of working like a slave in Hyderabad, we can develop our village and find livelihood simultaneously," Sardar, who had appeared for Intermediate second year exam at Devarakonda, maintains.

Speaking to reporters who visited tribal hamlets to find out whether the information about the ground-breaking Act trickled down to the thandas, Sardar said: "I took initiative and gave the names of inhabitants of my thanda to the revenue officials since this is a wonderful opportunity for poor like us."

His friend, Ramawath Tirupathi, said that tribals were eagerly waiting for the works to commence. Apart from the Government machinery, all political parties voluntarily took initiative to create awareness among the tribals about the work-guarantee scheme.

Says P.Uma Devi, the Mandal Development Officer, "There is an overwhelming response from the scheme, which is certainly a boon for them. Nobody wants to migrate this summer."

Requests pour in

According to the official, as many as 10,130 people registered names seeking employment in the summer. "Many more are approaching us with a request to include their names in the list," Ms. Uma said adding that each person would get Rs.80 per day and was ensured 100 man-days.

Collector Kaveti Vijayanand said that the scheme would stop migrations. "In a couple of days we will distribute job cards among 3.85 lakh applicants. We are all set to ground works on April 1 for which Rs.7.88 crores have already been released," he said.

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