The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : A rough ride all the way for them

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Saturday, May 03, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

A rough ride all the way for them

G.V.R. Subba Rao

Lambadas belonging to Kesav-Gyama thandas narrating their probelms in A.Konduru mandal of Krishna district.

Kesava-Gyama Thanda (Krishna district): Pikla Naik was just six years of age when the then Mylavaram MLA Chanumolu Venkata Rao promised a pucca road to his hamlet. He is now father of school-going children, and yet the road from Krishnaraopalem, which is just two km from his thanda, continues to elude him and all others of the hamlet.

Kesava and Gyama are two closely located thandas in A. Konduru mandal of Krishna district, with a population of about 250 Lambada families.

They have lost all the hope they had for several years now, that their elected representatives would keep their promise of laying a road to their hamlet. For, they have been listening to these assurances from 1985.

The road is eluding the villagers ever since Komati Bhaskara Rao, who served as Mylavaram MLA, raised the issue when he was the Samiti president, says Banavath Gopi Raju, district secretary of Girijan Sangham.

Mr. Venkata Rao, during the campaign in the run up to last general elections, renewed his promise of getting a pucca road for the hamlet.

MP’s promise

When it was still not delivered, the Lambadas’ hopes were further rekindled by Lagadapati Rajagopal, MP, who during his Pragati-Purogati yatra, assured them the road would be laid with funds from NABARD.

Still, there is no progress, villagers complain.

“Mr. Venkat Rao promised us a road when he became MLA in 1985 and again in 2004. Thereafter, we saw three MLAs, but nothing happened until now,” says Pikla Naik.

The Lambadas are particularly livid that Mr. Venkata Rao and Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, the other MLA to represent Mylavaram constituency in the Assembly, served as Ministers during the last two decades, but failed to get the road laid.

Chanti Baroth, another villager, recollects that Mr. Sobhanadreeswara Rao had told them that Rs. 1 crore was sanctioned to lay roads in about half-a-dozen villages in the mandal.

“It is now more than six months since the MP talked of getting the road laid with NABARD funds,” adds Banavath Vasya, another villager.

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