Kotnapalli: After waiting for several years for the district administration and the state government to lay a motorable road to their hilltop village, residents of Kotnapalli in Andhra Pradesh's Vishakhapatnam district set an example for others by constructing the village road on their own expense.
Villagers said they were tired of the state apathy and decided to build the road for themselves.
Villagers claim to have approached the government several times but their requests were never considered. The communication woes worsened with the advent of monsoon.
After the district administration turned a blind eye to their woes despite repeated requests for a road to remain connected to the village, they collected money and constructed a pucca road for all-weather road connectivity.
"We have been suffering since years, especially during monsoon, to remain connected with other places. However, the government did nothing to improve the situation. Despite our repeated requests, the district administration did not pay any attention. Later, we decided to construct a road on our own efforts," said a villager.
The poor tribal people from the village in Hukumpeta Mandal collected money for the 4 km road to connect them to Hukumpeta main road, from where there are roads to other places.
"When there was no road, medical emergencies become particularly difficult to handle. Villagers usually trek for 5 km, crossing a forest on a hillock to reach to the nearest road to catch transport. Now the 2 km path has been completed and two more kilometres will be completed in the next month. We are requesting the district authorities to help us for the construction of the road," a villager said.
Meanwhile, the road that villagers are repairing is the road that leads from inside the village and connects with the main road.
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