Live
- ‘Get Set, Grow Summit 2024’ Focuses on Digital Detox for Families
- Stokes motivates his team to put in extra effort, says England pacer Potts
- From overcoming setbacks to leading India in U19 Women’s Asia Cup, Niki Prasad's amazing journey
- Driving Enterprise Security: Inside Venkata Reddy Thummala’s Leadership Journey
- Constitution debate: PM Modi hails 'Nari Shakti'; makes strong pitch for 'United Bharat’
- Abhijeet Bhardwaj: Revolutionizing Enterprise Analytics with Innovation and Expertise
- Bihar: Inquiry initiated against principal who went to buy veggies during school hours
- Press Sri Lankan Prez for release of Indian fishermen: TN Cong MP to EAM Jaishankar
- TN: DMK postpones executive meet due to heavy rains & Parliament session
- Porous silicon oxide electrodes can fix durability issues in batteries: Researchers
AP CM adopted village has no school
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu perhaps may not know that the village Littiguda under Pedalabudu panchayat of Araku Valley, which he adopted, has no school for the children.
Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu perhaps may not know that the village Littiguda under Pedalabudu panchayat of Araku Valley, which he adopted, has no school for the children.
In October last year, Naidu announced that the village he was adopting would be `smart’ not in terms of technology but will have better standard of living which include basic amenities like hygiene, education, health, livelihood, Mee Seva, promoting LED lights, solar power, water conservation, soil testing, greenery, bank accounts for every family and with emphasis on happiness through collective efforts.
- The MPP Elementary School in Littiguda village was closed last October as it did not have the adequate strength of students
- Tribal kids stage dharna at the Collectorate demanding reopening of the school
Political observers, particularly the Left leaders then opined that Naidu had a hidden agenda behind adoption of this far flung village. Pedalabudu panchayat has vast deposits of bauxite and the Chief Minister simply wanted to appease the innocent tribals, who have been opposing mining all along.
The MPP Elementary School in question had 23 children and the government made it a policy to close the schools having strength less than 20 students and enroll them in nearby schools. The Elementary School was closed soon after the Chief Minister announced adoption and the children were asked to trek 2 kilometres to reach the new school.
“Trekking in Agency tracts, unlike urban area, is no easy task. The Agency gets rains for six months beginning with Southwest Monsoon and continues until Northeast Monsoon withdraws in December. The two-kilometre stretch has some canals which overflow during the rainy season. It is inhuman to ask the children to risk their lives,’’ said district secretary of CPM LK Lokanadham who visited the village recently.
He told this correspondent that none of the children are going to school since it was closed last year. On Monday, most of the children from Littiguda came to the city and staged a dharna in front of the Collectorate demanding reopening of the school, under the aegis of Girijana Sangham.
District president of the Sangham K Surendra said the government was not serious about increasing the literacy rate in the Agency areas. The literacy rate was just 4 per cent in 1970 and increased to 40 per cent in 2011 due to Anganwadis, primary schools and residential schools.
By: KMP Patnaik
