Fever affect children in Andhra Pradesh’s Neredubandha; tribals demand holding of medical camp in village

13 children in Neredubandha, Andhra Pradesh suffering from fever, tribal leaders seek health camp for treatment.

As many as 13 children are suffering from fever for the past few days at Neredubandha, a hilltop tribal hamlet of Cheemalapadu panchayat of Ravikamatham mandal in Ankapalli district, in Andhra Pradesh.

Girijan Sangham leaders have sought immediate visit by district-level officials and holding of a health camp to treat the children.

The tribal people say that there are 14 tribal families, belonging to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) ‘Kondh’ tribe, who have been living there since long. Children have been suffering with fever for the past three days. The village has no ASHA worker or an Anganwadi Centre. The children have to trek 6 km every day to reach their school at Z. Zogumpeta and back. They said that one of the children Killo Prabhas was already admitted to the Area Hospital at Narsipatnam while the remaining were suffering with fever in the village.

The officials have not undertaken malathion spraying in the hamlet on the plea that the name of the village is not in their records, say Pangi Chandrayya, Girijan Sangham district president, PVTG Sangham president Gemili Vasu. This was resulting in the proliferation of mosquitoes and spread of viral fevers.

CPI(M) district secretariat member K. Govinda Rao said the tribal people have decided to stage a protest with ‘dolis’ at the Primary Health Centre (PHC), if a medical camp was not organised in the village by the end of this week. He appealed to the Collector to visit the village and do justice to the people.