Andhra Pradesh: Fathers Struggle To Take Their Children To School

The fathers here become like Anjaneya carrying Ramalakshmana on his shoulders in the battle against Ravanasura. The children are carried on their shoulders and taken to school facing each other. Nanne becomes the vehicle. He takes the children to school safely. After taking the children from one bank to the other, the fathers should come back a second time and take the bags and carriages and give them to the children. In this way, one should cross Tammileru four times a day. Unable to cross the river…unable to reach school, living between that dam and this dam is becoming an eternal hell. Here the water flows very strongly. Elderly people have to be accompanied by someone to cross the stream.

A temporary road will be constructed for Sankranthi or Shivratri. It will be washed away by rain or flood. The trouble begins again. If it gets crowded, the studies will stop. Locals say that promises made by leaders during elections will be written on the water again. This is eternal hell. If you want to go to school, you have to climb on your father’s shoulders. In the case of small children, fathers carry salt on them. Older children have to take care of themselves. Such bad conditions are not found anywhere in the agency. To go from Vijayarai in Pedavegi Mandal of Eluru district to Believe and Venkatapuram in Musunur Mandal, one has to cross the Tammileru canal. Students, daily laborers, and petty traders from Balive and Venkatapuram villages regularly wade in waist-deep water and cross the canal to Vijayarai.

The fathers are complaining that they are forced to cross the river every day by skipping work. It is said that one has to travel 60 kilometers to come back around. People there are in a situation where they have to cross the canal with their lives in the palm of their hand even though they know it is dangerous. Whenever the canal overflows, traffic is completely cut off for about a week. Hundreds of students, day laborers, and petty traders are constantly crossing the canal in fear. The authorities are acting as if their troubles are not theirs. Look at this kid. Not being able to cross the river, not being able to reach school….not being able to stay in that strait, not being able to reach this strait, he seems to be in longing.

Ramalingeswara Swamy Utsav is held every year in Bali village on Mahashivaratri. For these festivals, a large number of people from the Eluru district go to Bali to visit the Lord. Only then will a temporary dirt road be constructed. But when the canal rises, even the road gets washed away. Many times a temporary road has already been built with soil and is being washed away by the surge of water. Also in Believe Venkatapuram, there are more coconut and lemon crops. Laborers also go to work by walking in the water due to the lack of a bridge. And when the Tammileru river is in full flow, traffic is completely disrupted for about a week. Also, students will have to drop out of school at that time.

So far, many officials have come and checked the situation, but the locals are complaining that no permanent solution to their problem has been given. Even now the authorities have responded and requested to build a permanent bridge between Balive Vijayarai areas on the Tammileru canal and remove the hardships of the people.