Date:04/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/04/stories/2007100456700300.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Police conduct medical camp in naxal-infested village

K.M. Dayashankar

Doctors from Karimnagar and Sircilla towns screen patients

Relief to patients: A medical camp in progress with police personnel standing guard at Akkapalli village in Karimnagar district on Wednesday.

AKKAPALLI (KARIMNAGAR DT): This interior village located in Yellareddypet mandal has attained the dubious distinction of witnessing a record number of eight exchanges of fire between the police and Maoists and Janashakthi group naxalites.

In spite of natural resources and the scenic beauty, the village is still backward because of lack of road communication and RTC services. Women and elderly persons suffer a lot due to non-availability of medical facilities and bad road conditions to reach the mandal headquarters. In view of this, Sircilla Circle Inspector P. Venugopal Rao arranged a medical camp on Wednesday amid tight security with the help of doctors from Karimnagar and Sircilla towns.

Superintendent of Police Y. Gangadhar inaugurated the camp and there was good response. Fifteen doctors and paramedical staff conducted various tests and distributed medicines free of cost to patients.

“It is really a dream come true,” said a tribal Bhukya Laxmi who attended the medical camp. She says that earlier, the villagers, including the youth, used to run away into the forests when police entered the village. But now, the youth and villagers urged the police to conduct the camp, she said.

She also expressed happiness and thanked the police for announcing laying of roads from Yellareddypet and Konaraopeta mandal headquarters to their village under the Remote and Interior Areas Development (RIAD) programme. The local youth also thanked the police for constructing ‘Maa Grandhalayam’ (our library) in the village.