Distributing cash handout an 'uphill' task in remote Andhra village

With no stable internet in Andhra Pradesh's Gomangi village to upload details of beneficiaries, volunteers who distribute the government's cash handouts have to climb hills in order to get better cell reception.

Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh): The ongoing efforts to provide citizens with the Andhra Pradesh government's welfare schemes has literally become an extremely uphill task, as beneficiaries need to climb hills in Visakha agency area.

In Gomangi, a remote village in the Visakha agency, the lack of cell reception is forcing people to make the tough climb atop hills to receive their dues.

Though the government has done away with the biometric system for cash relief, and replaced it with the photo identification method, it still requires a good internet connection.

The village volunteers, who still need a proper connection to upload the beneficiaries' photographs and their own fingerprints, have no option but to climb hills, where they can get better cell reception.

As a result, many of the beneficiaries, including aged people, also have to make the arduous climb. What makes it worse, is the fact that villagers often make the climb in groups, at a time when social distancing is the need of the hour.

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