On Andhra’s verdant hills, diseases hunt Premium

Tribal hamlet in ASR district faces malaria outbreak, highlighting lack of healthcare access and preventive measures.

As tribal couple Pangi Rama Rao and Pangi Sita began getting ready for work in the morning of May 19, they touched the forehead of their seven-year-old daughter Pangi Estheru. The girl, the fourth of their six daughters, was still running a high temperature, though almost a week had elapsed since the fever first appeared, disappearing once and then returning.

Rama Rao and Sita usually take their young daughters with them, so they could play or do menial tasks as they toiled in the fields downhill at Jajulabandha of Koyyuru mandal in Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) district. That day, however, Sita decided stay back to tend to her ailing daughter while Rama Rao left for work.

But as the day progressed, Estheru’s condition deteriorated and by evening, she was gone. As news of the child’s death spread, five more cases of children suffering from fever in the hamlet came to light. Fortunately, all five have since recovered from the illness.

However, this was not the first time that fever and seasonal diseases had ravaged tribal hamlets on the hill slopes of the picturesque ASR district. In this corner, where even paracetamol is said to be in short supply, a fever can kill.

A walk along the winding paths and lanes between houses lays bare the life of the tribespeople in this hamlet. Most houses, thatched or tiled, have a cattle shed sitting cheek by jowl, with its pools of urine and dung slush providing a perfect breeding ground for disease spreading mosquitoes.

According to CPI(M) district secretariat member K. Govinda Rao, who has been organising protests demanding better facilities for the tribespeople, though water taps were provided at the hilltop village, which borders Anakapalli district, no water tank was constructed and the sole water pump remains defunct. This forces the villagers to fetch water from the ‘gedda’ (stream) about half a kilometre away. According to the villagers, this water often cause diseases.

According to sources in the Health Department, the first five months of this year witnessed a significant spike in malaria cases compared to the corresponding period last year. A total of 1,122 cases of malaria were detected in 11 of the 22 mandals in ASR district between January and May (till May 28). The total number of malaria cases for the corresponding period in 2024 is 791.