Bhupalapally: Residents of forest villages in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district continue to face severe hardships in accessing ration supplies, with some walking over 5 km to the nearest distribution point. Villagers from hamlets like Pambapur, Nandigama, and Gollabudaram endure long and arduous journeys, often sacrificing an entire day’s work to collect essential provisions.

In the Jayashankar Bhupalpally district’s Bhupalpally Mandal, there are more than 20 forest villages. Villagers from Pambapur need to walk over 3 km to Dikshakunta or Rajiv Nagar to collect ration supplies. Similarly, residents of Nandigama must travel around 4 kilometers to Pandipampula.

Outlying hamlets like Gollabudaram require people to walk over 5 kilometers, while residents of Rampur travel to Chikenpalli, and those from Kamalapur go to Mallampally. These villages consist mostly of farming families who often lack motorcycles. Going out to fetch rations takes up their entire day, forcing them to skip their work.

On ration distribution days, smaller village residents rush to fetch supplies, carrying heavy bags.

During the monsoon season, it becomes worse as they have to cross streams and rivulets to get their rations.

Villagers often travel in groups to protect themselves from monkeys and wild animals. Some individuals, unable to carry the rice back, leave it behind, while others sell it to middlemen on the spot. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some villagers, unable to travel to nearby villages, had to go hungry.

Thankfully, the government now allows beneficiaries to access rations closer to where they live. Otherwise, some panchayats had ration points as far as 10 km away.

The Telangana government has recently formed new gram panchayats. Villagers are hopeful that establishing new ration shops and Anganwadi centers in these new panchayats would ease their burden. They urge the District Collector to take proactive steps to provide a permanent solution to their difficulties.