Parents in Kotha Yeellavaram, a remote tribal village in Anakapalle district’s Donkada area, have launched a protest demanding the construction of a road to ensure their children can attend school safely. Currently, children from these Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are forced to walk six kilometers daily along narrow, hilly paths, a journey that becomes particularly hazardous during the monsoon season.
On October 30, 2023, the Panchayatraj department approved the construction of a BT road from Karaka R&B Road to Donkada, with a budget of Rs 31.35 crore. However, the project has been delayed by bureaucratic hurdles. The initial setback occurred due to a lack of approval from the forest department. This led villagers to stage a sit-in at the district collector’s office on January 22, 2025. Afterward, on January 30, the forest department granted the required permission.
Despite this, construction has yet to begin. Earlier, officials cited the MLC elections as the cause for the delay. Now, they claim work cannot commence because the RDO has not yet submitted the joint inspector’s report.
Engineering officials warn that if construction does not begin soon, the arrival of the monsoon will make the road-building process impossible. Tribal leaders and activists, including Marri Pothuraj, Kondlathambari Satthibabu, and CPM district executive member K. Govinda Rao, have urged District Collector Vijaya Krishnan to intervene and resolve the bureaucratic delays so that construction can begin on time.
