Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary, Day 87: Education, Health Get Primacy in Navarathnalu 

Jangalapalli, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district: Honesty, integrity and commitment are attributes associated with former chief minister, Damodaran Sanjeevayya. I recollected these qualities of his as I paid homage to him on his anniversary. I began my Padayatra today on this note.

I crossed the North Canal—a project wherein most of the work was completed during my father, the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure. This region which was starved of drinking water, as also water for agricultural needs was the focus of his attention. With these thoughts I reached Krishnareddipalem. An old woman whose body was bent and limbs twisted, came to me, borne on the back of a man. Her teeth were also broken. I asked the man who was carrying her, “What caused this condition?”

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“Sir, this is my 35-year-old wife, Ankamma, who has turned into a decrepit old woman as you can see due to widespread fluoride contamination in this region. While she was pregnant, the child in her womb, our son, also got affected by fluoride contamination. He is now physically challenged person,” he lamented. She looked old and haggard and completely worn down by time. I could see very clearly the effects of fluoride contamination. Mastananna of the same village told me that both his kidneys had been damaged due to fluoride contamination and that there were more than 10 such people whose kidneys had got severely affected. In the neighbouring villages because of fluoride contamination there were scores of the disabled and those who had aged prematurely. My heart felt heavy. I was deeply saddened by their plight and the negligence and insensitivity of the TDP regime once again became evident. They are to be squarely held responsible for this worsening situation here. The apathetic Chandrababu Naidu government did not bother to ensure that drinking water from the North Canal in the vicinity is supplied to this village.

Once I crossed that village and reached Kudumuladinnepadu, I saw a water distribution point where water was served to the thirsty, by the roadside. Near the shed were a couple who came to me with tears in their eyes. This water distribution point was a form of service to mark the memory of their son, Ankamma Rao, who committed suicide a year ago. By offering a glass of water to the thirsty wayfarers, they hoped to serve his memory. “How did this tragedy come about?” I asked them. They told me that they were daily wage workers who dreamt of a better life for their children by educating them. Their eldest son managed to get a seat in engineering, but the tuition fee was Rs.70,000 per year. Unfortunately, only Rs.35,000 was being reimbursed under the fee reimbursement scheme. “He would constantly ask us whether we would be able to meet the expenditure incurred on his education and would get deeply disturbed by our difficult circumstances. Finally on Vinayaka Chaturthi last year, he committed suicide by hanging himself. He wrote a letter saying that it was our sin to have been born poor.”

Their narration left me disturbed—to imagine a young life lost due to grinding poverty was unimaginable. Is it a sin for the poor to have aspirations and to pursue education? Shouldn’t the current day rulers be held responsible for denying the poverty-stricken masses their due? It was to transcend the barriers of poverty and to help poor, aspiring students rise above their difficult circumstances that my father had introduced the pioneering fee reimbursement scheme. He ensured the timely reimbursement of fees, in his time.

In contrast, the Chandrababu Naidu government has watered down the scheme completely, delays the reimbursement process by months and has changed the parameters rendering many deserving students ineligible. Students like Ankamma Rao curse this government. I feel deeply pained by the attitude of the government. This is precisely why Navathnalu focuses on education and healthcare.

I have a question for the chief minister—among the first files you signed was one which said that your government would ensure safe drinking water supply to all villages. Four years have gone by. What happened to this promise? Forget mineral water, if regular drinking water supply was ensured, flouride-affected villages would be free of disease and disability. If one of the first commitments made by you was not fulfilled, what is the fate of thousands of other promises?