Tribal students of Jakaravalasa, Champapatti and Sheelangondi villages under Potangi Panchayat in Dumbriguda mandal, Alluri Sitarama Raju district, have been attending classes in a makeshift shelter for the past four months.
The school in Champapatti, which serves around 42 students from these villages, remains unrepaired after its roof was damaged due to heavy rains in April.
The roof collapse left the structure unsafe, and despite its critical role in serving the students of the three villages, the school has not yet been repaired. The three villages, with a population of nearly 1,000, rely on this school for primary education.
After the roof collapsed on Good Friday due to torrential rain, students were forced to study in the open for several days. Later, villagers built a makeshift shed next to the damaged building to create a safer space for classes.
“We had no choice but to put up a temporary shelter so our children could continue studying,” locals said, stressing the urgency of the completing repair works.
In addition to the school’s condition, tribals also pointed to other long-standing infrastructure problems, including an incomplete bridge that connects Champapatti to Dumbriguda. “The bridge has been under construction for years. During the rainy season, we are forced to walk nearly 10 km to reach the mandal headquarters,” they explained.
Access to drinking water also remains a struggle. Although Jakaravalasa has two water tanks, only one is functional, and even that often supplies muddy water. “We depend largely on open sources for drinking water. Transporting water or farm produce is very difficult,” villagers said, urging authorities to address their basic needs at the earliest.
“We are not seeking grand new projects but just basic upgrades to our existing infrastructure. We want the bridge, and amenities to be functional and safe, making daily life easier, and improving our access to essential services and mobility,” the tribals added.
