he pent up resentment among Adivasis of the historic Jodeghat village in Kerameri mandal where the government had initiated a Rs. 25 crore tourism development project, came out into the open following the accidental death of six-year-old Gond tribal boy Kumra Ramu that happened on Wednesday. They accused the government of ignoring development of the village while concentrating only on the tourism project.
Ramu drowned in an open well dug recently on the outskirts of the village. The well was dug up by the contractor of the Kumram Bheem memorial project coming up at the village.
A case has been booked against the contractor for negligence as he had left the well bereft of any safety measures which apparently cost the Class I student his life.
Angry over the incident, the villagers forced suspension of the work on the tourism project. Their plea will now be heard on December 3 when officials of the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) led by Project Officer R.V. Karnan will hold a meeting with them.
On Tuesday, the villagers protested with the body of the boy and did not allow the ITDA Assistant Project Officer (General) to go out of their village for over two hours.
He was ‘released’ only after he gave a written assurance on solving their grievances.
“What is the use of developing such a huge facility which puts our lives at risk,” questioned village headman, Pendur Somu Patel. “We do not have even basic of amenities,” he pointed out.
“The work will not be allowed to restart until we have our grievances solved,” declared Kumra Manik Rao who lost his son in the tragic incident. “The government should announce adequate compensation besides, punishing the persons responsible for my son’s death,” he demanded.
The 55 house habitation of Jodeghat located 22 km from the main road linking Kerameri to Asifabad has no roads or drainages, and the power supply is erratic which forces the villagers to fetch drinking water from a distant source.
“No taps are working and the much promised safe drinking water from the Kumram Bheem drinking water scheme is yet to reach our village,” the Patel complained.
Though the village boasts even of three phase power supply, its benefits are not passed on to the tribal people apparently because they do not have heavy duty pump sets to irrigate their fields.
The establishment of the three phase electric line from Asifabad however, leaves much to be desired as the overhead cables seem to be dangling at an easily accessible height at several places where it passes over smaller hillocks.
What is the use of developing such a huge facility which puts our lives at risk. We do not have even basic amenities in the village
Pendur Somu Patel
Jodeghat village headman
