A 2-km walk for drinking water: Andhra village residents plead for CM's help
Located in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district, the Thenelamamidi village has become a stark symbol of administrative neglect. Despite years of appeals to officials and elected representatives, residents say they continue to risk their lives for a basic human necessity, safe drinking water.
For decades, the tribal families of Andhra Pradesh's Thenelamamidi village have shared a singular, exhausting daily ritual: a perilous two-kilometre trek just to secure a basic human necessity, safe drinking water.
Located in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district, this remote tribal settlement has become a stark symbol of administrative neglect. Despite years of appeals to officials and elected representatives, residents say they continue to risk their lives daily against a backdrop of broken promises.
The daily quest for water is fraught with danger, particularly for the village’s women and children, who bear the brunt of the crisis. To fetch water, locals must navigate treacherous terrain and cross a fast-flowing local stream.
During periods of high flow, they are forced to rely on makeshift rope supports to pull themselves across. Local women recalled harrowing accounts of community members being swept away by the fierce currents in the past.
When the stream becomes entirely impassable, villagers are forced to trek even further to an alternative spring located in the neighbouring Visakhapatnam district. Villagers state that their repeated pleas for a permanent water solution have been systematically ignored for years.
Driven to desperation, a delegation from the village recently travelled to the District Collector’s office to demand action. However, the encounter only deepened their disappointment. According to the villagers, officials refused them entry into the main building, meeting them instead at the gate.
While the officials promised to bring the matter to the government's attention, no immediate relief or temporary supply measures were offered, leaving the community feeling abandoned.
With local authorities failing to provide a timeline for intervention, the residents have escalated their grievances to the highest levels of state leadership.
In a formal petition addressed directly to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, the tribal residents have urged the new administration to intervene immediately.
The community is calling for a permanent, engineered safe-water solution to end the decades-long hardship that continues to threaten both their lives and livelihoods.
"We are risking our lives every single day just for a pot of water," said one of the villagers. "We have swallowed promises for years. Now, we need pipelines, not words," they added.
For decades, the tribal families of Andhra Pradesh's Thenelamamidi village have shared a singular, exhausting daily ritual: a perilous two-kilometre trek just to secure a basic human necessity, safe drinking water.
Located in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district, this remote tribal settlement has become a stark symbol of administrative neglect. Despite years of appeals to officials and elected representatives, residents say they continue to risk their lives daily against a backdrop of broken promises.
The daily quest for water is fraught with danger, particularly for the village’s women and children, who bear the brunt of the crisis. To fetch water, locals must navigate treacherous terrain and cross a fast-flowing local stream.
During periods of high flow, they are forced to rely on makeshift rope supports to pull themselves across. Local women recalled harrowing accounts of community members being swept away by the fierce currents in the past.
When the stream becomes entirely impassable, villagers are forced to trek even further to an alternative spring located in the neighbouring Visakhapatnam district. Villagers state that their repeated pleas for a permanent water solution have been systematically ignored for years.
Driven to desperation, a delegation from the village recently travelled to the District Collector’s office to demand action. However, the encounter only deepened their disappointment. According to the villagers, officials refused them entry into the main building, meeting them instead at the gate.
While the officials promised to bring the matter to the government's attention, no immediate relief or temporary supply measures were offered, leaving the community feeling abandoned.
With local authorities failing to provide a timeline for intervention, the residents have escalated their grievances to the highest levels of state leadership.
In a formal petition addressed directly to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, the tribal residents have urged the new administration to intervene immediately.
The community is calling for a permanent, engineered safe-water solution to end the decades-long hardship that continues to threaten both their lives and livelihoods.
"We are risking our lives every single day just for a pot of water," said one of the villagers. "We have swallowed promises for years. Now, we need pipelines, not words," they added.
