14-07-2025
No road access: Tribal woman forced to deliver under tree in Anakapalle
VISAKHAPATNAM: A 22-year-old pregnant woman was forced to give birth to a baby girl under a tamarind tree in the Anakapalle district due to the absence of road connectivity.
The woman, Pangi Sai, had to be carried in a doli (makeshift stretcher) for four kilometres to reach medical help from a remote hilltop village, Losingi, in Arla panchayat of Rolugunta mandal in Anakapalle district.
Sai, who was in labour with her second child, was carried by her husband, Sundar Rao and family members to YB Patnam, where she delivered the baby. Later, she was taken to Buchayyapeta Primary Health Centre (PHC) by ambulance. The village is home to 70 families from a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), with a population of around 290.
According to tribal leader K Govind Rao, the Anakapalle District Collector had sanctioned Rs 2.5 crore under the MGNREGS to build a blacktop road from YB Patnam to Losingi via Pedagaruvu.
'However, the work was stalled midway, reportedly due to the government not clearing contractor bills. Heavy rains further damaged the partially built road and side drains, making the village inaccessible by ambulance,' he claimed.
